Saturday, March 27, 2010

Brief History of the Philippines

This brief history of the Philippines, told by a philosopher of ‎the streets, is probably closest to the truth about ourselves.

WHAT'S the big deal when Lapu-Lapu killed Magellan in ‎‎1521? Nothing much really. During Lapu-Lapu's time, Mactan ‎was strictly tribal. Think small, guid. There were no big ideas ‎such as nationalism or geopolitics.

Lapu-Lapu was simply the local siga-siga and Magellan was ‎the culture-shocked Westerner, a native first-timer in the ‎
exotic east. We lionize Lapu-Lapu as a hero and nationalist. ‎Ang totoo, mayabang lang si Lapu-Lapu. But this defeat of a ‎foreign invader did not make a Filipino nation. The timing ‎was wrong. And don't you believe that bull that Spanish ‎explorers came to find spices of the East to improve the taste
of their bland cuisine. Their hidden agenda was to spread ‎their kingdom through colonization, the euphemism for land ‎grabbing.

During the 333 years of Spanish rule (1565-1898), hundreds‎
of rebellions were waged by native firebrands in many parts
of the archipelago. Not one succeeded. Our rebels were ‎either caught, garotted, or simply ignored by the
Commandante as nuisances. Puro malas!

The execution of Rizal in 1896 was a traumatic experience ‎for Filipinos. Those who read Rizal's Fili and Noli were ‎incensed by the abuses of the church and state regime
of the Spaniards. Emotions ran high, from Aparri to Jolo.‎
The critical mass needed for nationhood was formed. At last ‎we could rebel as a people, as a nation.

The Katipunan did their battle heroics, originally led by the
firebrand Bonifacio and later on by the crafty Aguinaldo. ‎With more Katipunan charges (Sugod mga Kapatid), freedom ‎seemed possible. Between 1897 and 1899, stealth, betrayal, ‎and skullduggery bedeviled our prospect for independence.‎
The Aguinaldo and Bonifacio factions engaged in ugly ‎infighting (the talangka mentality) resulting in the execution
of Bonifacio.

Meantime, an American Admiral named Dewey entered ‎Manila Bay and defeated a luckluster Spanish navy. ‎Aguinaldo reneged on the pact of Biak na bato. He resumed
the revolution by proclaiming the Philippine Independence in ‎Kawit. June 12. From whom? We were still under the ‎
Americans & Spaniards at that time.

Meanwhile, American and Spanish soldiers held a moromoro"‎
battle in Intramuros with the Spaniards surrendering. ‎Aguinaldo's republic and his KKK patriots were left out and ‎ignored. Naisahan tayo... Minalas na naman.

The Filipino-American War broke out. Tall American soldiers ‎looking like Clark Gable chased and battled the outlawed ‎Filipino revolutionaries, ending in the capture of Aguinaldo in ‎Isabela. Thanks to the mercenaries from Macabebe. This is
the second time those Macabebe turn in their own kind, first ‎with the Spaniards. This was the mother of all kamalasan.

At that time, our population was 8 million. The gap between
the rich and the poor was estimated at 30% middle-class ‎and rich, 70% low-class and rural poor.

During the Commonwealth period (1901-1941) which ‎followed, there were lots of learning on democratic ‎principles, its structure and governance. Technology ‎transfers were done on Constitutional Rights, Public ‎Education, Transportation, Health, International Trade and ‎Industrialization. The Americans turned out to be good ‎tutors. Filipinos also went crazy over American brand ‎products like Libby's corned beef and Portola sardines, ‎Hershey's Kisses and Wrigley's chewing gum, Camel ‎cigarettes and Model T Ford for the hacienderos of
Pampanga and Iloilo.

Hollywood films made Pinoy males fantasize on Jean Harlow, ‎Betty Grable, and Mae West. Thus, Filipino colonial mentality ‎began. We fondly called this period Peace Time. By the way, ‎American troops massacred innocent people in Balangiga. ‎Mga hayop din pala!

‎1941. Disaster! World War II! After attacking Pearl Harbor,‎
the Japanese army invaded our country defeating the
combined American and Filipino forces (USAFFE). General ‎McArthur, the proud and handsome Army chief, fled to ‎Australia at the height of the battle. Then the Filipinos ‎marched to Bataan as prisoners in the Death March.

For four miserable years we suffered the sadism of the
Japanese militarists' rule. Torture, famine, and death were ‎for us, the order of the day.. Kawawa. Malas na malas!

The American forces returned in 1945 to liberate the
country. McArthur, General Superiority Complex himself, ‎sporting Ray Ban sunglasses and corncob pipe, swaggered ‎back to Manila. Piqued at his humiliation in 1941, McArthur ‎ordered the bombing and shelling of Manila till kingdom ‎come. So he can get back at the Japs for wrecking his R&R ‎place in Asia. Malas na naman.

The whole-wide expanse south of Pasig - from the Post ‎Office to Vito Cruz, including all of Intramuros - was ‎pulverized. Manila was the most devastated city of World ‎War II next to Warsaw, Poland (Tokyo was not damage that ‎much because they surrendered after 2 atomic bombs). Our ‎culture, our heritage, and historical assets (seven beautiful ‎churches in Intramuros, hundreds of elegant Art Deco and ‎neo-classical architecture in Paco) were sacrificed recklessly ‎and completely erased from the face of the earth. Sayang na ‎sayang!

In 1946, we gained our independence from the Americans. ‎We were a free nation at last (because the Americans saw ‎how much it will cost to rebuild the devastations, better to ‎let pinoys do it themselves)! A true Independence Day for ‎us, July 4th 1946 not the June 12th that Aguinaldo declared ‎and Disocado Macapagal (Marcos did initiate change, but ‎Macapagal) celebrated. We had enough exposure and ‎lessons on how to govern a democratic country, the first in ‎Asia. Our population was 17 million. The dollar exchange ‎was US$1 to P2.

But there was still no peace from 1947 to 1955 (not 1966 ‎because Pres. Ramon Magsaysay was successful putting it ‎down as Sec. of National Defense before becoming President. ‎In late ‘60s, it is the CPP by founder Jose Maria Sison). A ‎widespread communist rebellion led by Taruc, the Lava ‎brothers, and its armed guerillas called Hukbalahap ‎‎(supposed to be Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon) waged ‎bloody war with government troops and turned out to be ‎nothing but bandits in disguise. Filipinos killed kapwa
Filipinos. Malas na naman!

Our politicians and bureaucrats learned to engage in graft ‎and corruption (What are we in power for?) - such as the
war surplus bribery, the Tambobong wheeler-dealing and
the Namarco scam. Talo nanaman!

Six presidents were elected to manage the country from ‎‎1947 to 1972, under the democratic system. They were ‎Presidents Roxas, Quirino, Magsaysay, Garcia, Macapagal, ‎and Marcos.

Economists looked back to the decades of the 50s and 60s ‎as the best years of the Philippine economy, surpassing ‎Asian countries. The nostalgia was naiveté, useless ego-‎tripping. The gap between the rich and the poor remained ‎big. 30% middle-class and rich, 70% low- class, rural and ‎urban poor. We were 27 million people. US$1 was to P4.

During the late 60's, the Maoist communists led by ‎Commander Dante intensified its drive to overthrow the
government. Marcos added fuel to the fire by creating a ‎communist spook. Violence and mayhem ruled the streets.‎
The youth went up in arms! Martial Law was declared in ‎‎1972 and Marcos became dictator. Freedom of assembly and ‎of expression went out of the window.

What followed were years of dictatorial abuse, crony ‎capitalism, shackled free enterprise, near economic collapse ‎and a demoralized middle class. The gap between the rich
‎(30%) and poor (70%) remained in a quagmire. Pareho rin ‎pala ang situation.

Our population was 40 million. Exchange rate was US$1 to ‎P7. Kawawang kawawa! Malas na malas! In 1983, Ninoy ‎Aquino, Marcos' exiled arch rival, was assassinated upon his ‎return. Push came to shove. Cardinal Sin engaged the people ‎on to protest. Outrage, self- pity, shame and fury raged and ‎rumbled like a tidal wave, culminating in the incredible ‎People Power Revolution. The very sick and obstinate Marcos ‎fled (hijacked by Americans from Clark) to Hawaii (sounds ‎like Paoay) where he died. His alleged millions of stolen ‎dollars intact and unresolved, up to now... peso to dollar ‎exchange is now US$1 to P20 (in the black market, it was ‎P30-35).

But People Power was our shining glory! The whole world ‎applauded our saintly courage, our dignified defiance, our ‎bloodless solution to expel a dictator. We were the toast of ‎all freedom-loving countries, the envy of all oppressed ‎people. In 1986, we placed Cory Aquino, Ninoy's widow, in ‎Malacañang. She was virtuous, sincere and full of good ‎intentions for the country. But what happens under Cory?

Endless brown-outs… living in a situation where portable ‎generators was a must and monopolized by Cory's relatives ‎who threw out her Energy Department down the Pasig River. ‎The land reform she professed and promised was going good ‎at first, but after she found out her Hacienda Luisita will be ‎greatly affected, that program went down the Pasig River ‎too! No wonder that river is so polluted. (Land reform will ‎not uplift the pinoy nation if the attitude of the majority of ‎the beneficiaries does not change from get-rich-quick ‎mentality)

Coup attempts by Honasan, power struggles, political ‎squabbles, and the infighting for juicy deals harassed the ‎amateur Cory presidency. So nothing happened. No progress ‎took place. The economy was still bad. The poor suffered ‎more and more. Sure we got democracy back on its feet. But ‎the Filipino resolve didn't happen. People Power pala was ‎‎"ningas cogon" power. (Honasan coup of 1989 did us in. The ‎economy was picking up fast after 1986 People Power ‎despite the brown-outs. We more or less recovered ‎economically only after 10 years because of that most ‎serious coup)

Sayang na sayang! Tha gap between the rich and the poor ‎remained at 30% (middle-class and rich), 70% (lower-class ‎and rural/urban poor). Exchange rate was US$1 to P25. We ‎were 55 million people.

In 1992, Cory's choice, Fidel Ramos, West Pointer, soldier, ‎and hero of People Power won the presidency. He had the ‎bearing, the single-mindedness and the vision to bring the ‎country to a tiger economy status. Ramos was a terrific ‎salesman of the Philippines to the world. He was able to ‎hype a climate of good economic grounds. He removed ‎barriers to progress. He was an apostle of privatization. His ‎mantra was, less government, more private sector! Fidel hit ‎the right note and the economy went on a roll. Fidel wanted ‎to run for reelection but failed to swing the cha-cha (an ‎idiotic acronym for Constitutional Change) so he could run ‎again.

In 1997, the Asian economic crises struck, triggered by the ‎bursting balloon of the hyper-speculative Bangkok economy. ‎The financial debacle created disastrous effects in the ‎investment institutions of Manila, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur,‎
Hong Kong, Seoul, and Taiwan. All the Ramos gains ‎evaporated into thin air. Malas na naman! The poor, specially ‎Mang Pandoy, were poorer than ever. (Manila was the least ‎affected by this crises because we have the least foreign ‎investment among ASEAN, so not much investment to ‎withdraw by foreign investors, but Erap did not capitalized ‎on this fact – so we suffer as well because Erap was sleeping ‎on the job)

‎1998 was showbiz time! The Erap para sa mahirap show ‎opened to the chagrin of Makati Business Club. Pasensya na ‎po kayo, mga elitists. Democracy is also weird. The choice of ‎the masa must be respected.

Catastrophe! Chavit Singson exploded jueteng bombs! For ‎days on end, a nation sick in the stomach, sat through ‎primetime TV aghast at watching the bizarre drama of ‎alleged bribery, gambling, drunkenness, womanizing, deceit, ‎and corruption. A lantern-jawed witness and a sexy ‎intelligence "asset" hogged the witness stand.

Viewing the scandals on TV was like watching dogs mating in ‎the public square. It's embarrassing but you can't take your ‎eyes off them.

The impeachment trial serialized on TV was riveting. The ‎defense lawyers, some wearing a canine sneer (ngiting aso) ‎insulted our intelligence often. (Lokohin n'yo ang lelang ‎n'yo). The whole country was stinking to high heavens. The ‎prosecution produced its own witnesses - Clarissa Ocampo, ‎Emma Lim, Carmencita Itchon and many others.

Idols with feet of clay fell crashing into the dust. Those who ‎voted against opening the envelope were legalese, ‎procedural, sounded intellectually brilliant, but also ‎heartless and thick-skinned. They couldn't fathom the ‎heartbeat of the nation. Cardinal Sin, aging and sickly, called ‎on the people again. It was People Power II!

Same humongous and collective umbrage, same ‎brinkmanship, and same staccato prayers! Generals Reyes ‎and Villanueva simply joined the mammoth EDSA crowd. No ‎US jets from Clark this time. Erap was out! Gloria was in!

Hope springs eternal. Malacañang regained its honor and ‎dignity. Protocol was observed. Absurdity was gone. ‎Grammatical English was back. Now the first gentleman ‎should have been named Mr. Pakyao, he has the monopoly of ‎graft behind Gloria's back.

‎2001. More catastrophies! The peso plummeted to a ‎horrifying US$1 to P51. The Abu Sayyaf (extremist ‎ideologues, or mindless barbarians?) were into kidnapping ‎and terrorism, gaining worldwide notoriety. Businesses are ‎still closing shop. Thousands of workers are being ‎retrenched. Prices of food and gasoline are very high. ‎‎(Galunggong is P80 per kilo!) Our streets became permanent ‎garbage dumps. Maggots multiply to spread disease. Our ‎communities stink.

Again, the whole nation was witnessing sickening crimes ‎attributed to people in the government. Talo na naman! We ‎are now 75 million people but the gap between the rich, 30% ‎‎(middle-class and rich), 70% (lower-class and rural/urban ‎poor) remains the same for one century.

When will this end? It's been more than 350 years since ‎Lapu's- Lapu's victory, 100 years since Rizal martyrdom and ‎we're nowhere as a people, as a nation. Malas pa rin!

Some wise guy said the Filipino is a damaged culture. Bully! ‎And what do you call other foreigners. They used slaves in ‎their plantations, and landgrabbed from the natives! What ‎should we call such cultures? Predatory Culture? Bully ‎Culture? What about that other country? How many ‎countries did it put under the barrel of its gunships, so they ‎could gloat that the sun never sets on their empire? What ‎shall we call this culture? Sahib culture? Gunga Din culture? ‎C'mon, give us a break!

We Filipinos have strengths and endearing values. We are ‎Christians, God-fearing, and peace-loving. We are patient ‎and tolerant (matiisin to a fault). We are musical. We sing ‎our blues away. We have a sense of humor. We concoct and ‎text Imelda hyperboles and Erap malapropisms. We learn ‎fast because we are bilingual and highly educated. We've got ‎thousands of MBA's and PhD's in economics and ‎management from AIM, Wharton, Harvard, UCLA, etc. (most ‎of them now overseas).

We've got a surplus of technocrats for nation-building. We ‎want to work if there are vacancies. We want to go into ‎business if we have the capital. We want to obey the law if ‎the law is being enforced. We want to live and die here, if ‎there is peace and order.

But, but, and but. We have many shortcomings. We are ‎immature in our politics. Given a choice on whom to elect: a ‎handsome pabling movie star or an honest and brilliant ‎political scientist, we'll vote for the movie star.

No brainer tayo dito. Talo! We have many stupidities. Like ‎dogs, we pee (Bawal umihi dito) on walls and tires. Our ‎driving is suicidal. Our service quality is inferior.

Clerks at City Hall act arrogant. Sales ladies at department ‎stores don't know their product features. No exchange No ‎return even if it is defective, you have to argue for it. ‎Tourists get mugged by thugs in uniform. Police lay traps so ‎they can catch you and ask for bribes. What's wrong with ‎us? We don't have a great leader. And good governance. (In ‎Singapore, Lee Kwan Yew did it. The constituency profile is ‎similar to Filipinos). Admittedly, this country is impossible, ‎tiresome, and frustrating.

But it's the only country we've got. We live and die here. Will ‎we ever see the dawn?

Dios na mahabagin, kailan pa kaya? Ubos na ang aming luha. ‎Katog na ang aming mga tuhod. Tuyot na ang aming utak. ‎Hingal na ang aming puso.‎

Dios na mahabagin, isalba Mo po kami. Hindi po kami ‎talunan. At lalo pong hindi kami tanga. Sunod-sunod lang po ‎ang malas.

NOTE:
Dati Kastila, Amerikano, Intsik, Hapon at ngayon may ‎Koreano pa.

Mahabagin Diyos, Nasaan Ka PINOY?‎


As this article correctly pointed out “People Power was our ‎shining glory!” Let this election of May 10 be like it, a People ‎Power. Let us be hungry for change, zealots of our rights. We ‎should not leave it to the elected officials, to run the nation as they ‎like. After all, they are our servants and not the other way around. ‎Most of all, let us all be aware of the issues and not be led like ‎lamps to slaughter.‎

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