A Win in History

     

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    As the Philippines slowly declined after the Americans left, came the Japanese to inflict colonialism to the country and succeeded on December 1941, during the Second World War. Like any other colonizer, the Japanese were harsh and brutal to the inhabitants of the Philippines: women, children and men alike; no Filipino and American escaped the brutality brought upon by the Japanese. Throughout their “stay”, they have established different internment camps throughout the country wherein they focus on their training and keep watch over prisoners; out of these camps there is one particular camp that would be discussed in this blog and that is the one statured in Los Banos.

       

       According to Taylor (2018), the living conditions in the camp were tolerable for the first few years up until the war was moving against the Japanese did the living conditions of the internees start to turn up to the worst. They were food deprived and brutality escalated significantly. Lieutenant Sadaaki Konishi was the second-in-command of the said camp and was known to be the greatest white-race hater in the army. Through the Filipino Guerillas, information led out of the camp to the American soldiers of the conditions experienced by the internees of the camp. There was a rising concern that the Japanese would simply kill all the internees given the way the internees were being treated. On February 12, 1945, General Douglas MacArthur ordered raid on the camp with the objective to rescue the prisoners.

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        People inside the camp knew that the Americans had landed in Luzon and decided to take a risk. Three volunteers decided to escape the camp in order to bring information to their rescuers. It was definitely a risky move since escape attempts prior to this one led to tragic ends because if detected, the Japanese would inflict heavy violence towards not only on the escapee but also to those who did not try to escape at all. After travelling deep in the jungle, they were able to come in contact with Filipino Guerillas who led them towards the American soldiers. Information was delivered successfully to the forces with the most crucial information; the Japanese 200-man garrison practice calisthenics at 6:45am with no armory or any kind of protection, only loincloths.

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           Just before 7am, the attack commenced. Prisoners saw nine American airplanes flying towards them from the east with paratroopers jumping out from them. At the same moment, 75 Guerillas aided in the attack and targeted the guard posts. Meanwhile, amphibious vehicles travelled through Laguna de Bay and inflicted attacks close to the camp. It did not take long for the guards to flee the scene or be overwhelmed by the American forces. It was hard at first to calm the prisoners who were so filled with joy upon the sight of their rescuers. Eventually, the internees were subdued and were loaded into the amphibious vehicles since time was of the essence on that particular rescue mission. There were conflicting reports on the number of casualties, some say that no prisoner or a member of the rescue force was killed or wounded but some say around two American soldier and three Filipinos were killed with some wounded.

      In this raid, the Guerillas and townsfolk played small yet crucial roles in the success of the mission towards the rescuing of Filipinoand American civilians. They were the ones who provided vital information which led to the success of the operation. Furthermore, the Guerillas provided additional military support in the raid itself. On my own personal view and take on the raid, I believe that it was indeed a great win for the Americans to be able to liberate different internment camps including the one in Los Banos. With that said, I still believe that the Filipinos played a vital and crucial role in the success of the Americans since they were the ones who provided the information that led to the success of the raid. Therefore, it must be both the win of Americans and Filipinos.

References:

Taylor, R. (2018). "Raid on Los Banos Internment Camp". Retrieved from https://owlcation.com/humanities/Raid-on-Los-Baos-Internment-Camp 

Ganito Sila Noon, Ganito rin Tayo Ngayon

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The movie “Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon” (restored version) directed by Eddie Romero is a dramatic film set during the Spanish colonization era. The plot revolved around the main character of the movie, Nicolas Ocampo and his fortunes and misfortunes after leaving his village and travelled to Manila. Everything started when he met a priest wanting to be reunited with his 7-year-old-son. On his way to return Bindoy (the son) to his father, Nicolas came across another group of performers and fell immediately in love with the singer he soon called “Diding”. Upon arriving in Manila, after a series of events, Nicolas was finally able to bring Bindoy back to his father. In return, Nicolas was rewarded riches and properties in his name with the help of a lawyer named Tibor. But in the end, after gains and mishaps, Nicolas decided to leave his huge house, his riches and the love of his life for he was tired of the life he was living because somehow he still was not happy.

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During Nicolas’ adventures there was a specific question he kept on asking the people around him: “ano po ba ang Pilipino” in which the richer people would respond “ako, ako ang Pilipino” completely ignorant of the fact that even the poor people are Filipinos too. Others will simply respond “hindi ko alam” but  some would also say:  “ang mga ipinanganak at lumaki sa Maynila ay silang mga Pilipino” but Nicolas, upon seeing that some habitants of Manila are clearly Chinese or Spanish he still wondered what a Filipino truly is. In this movie, the ignorance that the Filipino people had for their identity was portrayed; they did not know who they are.

The richer people or the Illustrados were confident to proclaim that they are indeed Filipinos and the poorer people (which are Filipinos as well) were not. The reason behind this might be because of how the Spaniards would call the Filipinos as “indio”. Coinciding with the previous statement, (if I remember correctly) in the movie, Nicolas believed that he was a Filipino but the richer people scolded him for calling himself a Filipino because for the rich he was not a Filipino but an Indio. During these times or era, the term Filipino became a social status, a separation or boundary between the richer and the poorer instead of a nationality of a united people.

Because of the lack of identity it was hard for the Filipinos at that time to distinguish between their enemies and their allies. In the film, it was saddening that most of the time it was not Spanish guards hurting or beating up the Filipinos but Filipino guards hurting their own. Even the revolution was out of control especially when “Kidlat” a revolutionary killed a Filipino guard and throughout the film tried to kill Nicolas as well. Not only that, in the duration of the film Nicolas found only one person he could truly trust, despite the changes happening in his life, and it was Lim. The sad part is that Lim was not even Filipino, yes he was born and raised in the Philippines but he was Chinese by blood. With the many characters in the movie, Nicolas found a friend in a foreigner who was the only human in the movie that really showed care and concern for the poor Nicolas. Unlike the Filipino characters in the film who showed nothing but anger, greed, mistrust and betrayal.

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Nicolas, despite his riches, was never truly happy, and now with the loss of his only friend and trusted ally, he decided to leave Manila. He got tired of the life he has been living not knowing what his true purpose and even what his true identity even is. He left everything, his riches, the love of his life, everything. He had nothing to fight for. As a person struggling with his identity, he left. After a long walk he spotted some children wandering around and asked them what they are, where they are from and if they are Filipinos. The children responded with the places from where they live to the question “are you Filipinos” in which Nicolas said “Heto ang tatandaan niyo, Pilipino kayo”. The children were confused and were somehow unaware of what a Filipino is and that they are one. In the end, Nicolas became aware and more confident that he was a Filipino.

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As Filipinos, we should be aware of our identities, of who we are and that we are Filipinos because as seen in the film, this kind of ignorance could lead to catastrophic events. These events might even lead to the destruction of the Filipino nationality itself. This is very crucial even now in modern society. Even without colonization, influences still exist today and these influences can easily affect what the Filipinos truly are if they do not know their true identity as Filipinos. Without even realizing it, some countries may try to colonize us again although in a more civilized manner unlike the colonization era before. It is now the modern times and yet somehow we are no different from the Filipinos before, divided and ignorant. We are Filipinos and we must learn our past, live our present, and prepare for our future as Filipinos for the Filipinos.

The Tejeros of Modern Times

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The tejeros convention originated when the two councils, Magdiwang and Magdalo, decided to meet again after the discussion at Imus. This time, the conference was held at the friar estate house in tejeros, a barrio of San Franscisco de Malabaon, on March 22, 1897. Initially, the convention was for the purpose of discussing the defense of cavite instead, the assembled leaders discarded the initial goal of the meeting and chose to elect a government for the revolution and thus disregarding the current Supreme Council of the Katipunan.

In this election, it was Andres Bonifacio who spearheaded the election of the said revolutionary government. Prior to the election, the assembly swore to abide by the majority’s decision as to whoever the leader would be. The results of the election are as follows:

President	Emilio Aguinaldo
Vice-President	Mariano Trias
Captain-General	Artemio Ricarte
Director of War	Emiliano Riego de Dios
Director of the Interior	Andres Bonifacio

Emilio Aguinaldo was awarded the highest position despite his absence in the said convention due to military duties at Pasong Santol, Imus.  

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And although Bonifacio secured a position in the government, it was the lowest ranked position and clearly he lost power. Indeed it was difficult for the katipuneros, especially Bonifacio, to accept the results since the Magdiwangs were supposedly Bonifacio’s supporters but in the end did not vote for him for either the presidential or vice presidential positions. And as if to harden the blow of Bonifacio winning the lowest rank, a Caviteno elite, Daniel Tirona, spoke up and objected to Bonifacio’s win saying that an uneducated man and a non-Caviteno is not to be part of the said government especially since Bonifacio was without a lawyer’s diploma. With this, Bonifacio declared the assembly dissolved and that the election of the leaders was annulled.

Bonifacio and his men went and conducted another meeting which was now named as “the second tejeros convention” in the same estate house. In this discussion they wrote a document entitled, Acta de Tejeros wherein they cited why they would not amend to the said government. They have let themselves believe that there were anomalies in the previous election. Aguinaldo tried to reason with Bonifacio and try to convince him to return to the newly reinforced government, but still Bonifacio refused to heed Aguinaldo’s call.

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Bonifacio’s anger towards what he considered anomalies of the election and the insult he received from Daniel Tirona pushed him to write another document stating that the katipuneros would be establishing a new and independent government separate from what they established in Tejeros. They organized a new army that would follow a military leader of their choice. The document posed a great threat to the real goal and cause of the revolution. With the divided ranks and revolutionists, the revolution was bound to fail.

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In today’s time and society the division between the people is still evidently seen when it comes to politics and elected leaders with one side claiming that their side was cheated on by the other party. Even through the years, the people of today’s society still have not yet united under one common government. Groups still exists as to what we can compare to the Tejeros Convention divided governments, maybe because unlike Bonifacio’s time the “groups” existing now are those classified based on their (the people) circumstances in life and of course their beliefs.

And although the Filipino people has one goal, which is to give progress to our country’s current state, each and every one of the people might have a different interpretation as to how to achieve that goal. But as to what happened during Bonifacio’s time, achieving a goal not as one people but in groups could lead to nowhere but to absolute defeat. And thus the phrase “kaya hindi umuunlad ang Pilipinas e”, because we are so diverse and divided that acquiring or reaching our common goal seems impossible to do. History does repeat itself, as the Katipuneros and Cavitenos were unable to solidify their relationship and unite during their time, the revolution faced its foreseen defeat. If we, the Filipino’s of modern times, still fail in uniting as one towards our common goal, we might also face our destruction but maybe not from colonizers but from ourselves. 

References: Constantino R., (2009). The Tejeros Assembly of 1897. Retrieved from http://msc.edu.ph/centennial/tejeros.html

The "Moro Problem"

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Before we begin tackling the topic on Moro Raids particularly what would happen if it still existed in today's society, let us first define what Moro means. According to Rasul (1970), the term "Moro" is a Spanish term derived from the Latin word "Mauros", the name given to the inhabitants of the province Mauritania in northwest Africa who were Muslims. By so, the Spaniards used the term Moro for every Muslim. But because of the piratical raids done by the Moros to Christian communities, the term "Moro" became synonymous with the words "pirates" or "raiders" (Rasul, 1970).

With this in mind, we could therefore say that the Moro Raids were basically raids done by the Muslims and as said above, these raids were executed mostly on Christian communities. But why do these raids occur?

Let us first look at the socio-political and economic state of the Philippines before.

According to Domingo (1993), even before the Spaniards came to the Philippines, it is known that the Islam already inhabited and ruled some parts of Sulu and Maguindanao and was already starting its influence in the neighbouring islands. With the help of the Borneans, these rulers dominated the trade in the area. Then the Spaniards came forming permanent settlements in the country, in which would obviously threat the not only the trade but also the influence that the Islams have already established in the country. Therefore, the Moros conducted raids in Spanish settlements (Domingo 1993). According to Loyre (1985), these raids did not reach its peak until the 1750's.  The Moro raids reached its peak due to the high demand for slaves in the Dutch East Indies. It was said that sometimes, the slaves were not sold for money but were exchanged for arms and ammunition. In line with this, the Moro Raids were not as "revenge", not just "an expression of anger" towards the Spaniards but for the Moros to explicitly show their strength and power. They used their slaves for housework, fieldwork and craftwork. Let us not forget that during ancient times, slavery was a way of living; it was a symbol of strength and power. Thus wrote a french writer "without slavery, the Moros cannot live for it was the base of their wealth and happiness" (Loyre, 1985).

As for the religous side of which many writers argue, that the Moro Raids were conducted because of the missionaries propagating their Christian faith, some find that it is not the case. According to Loyre (1991), the religous angle or argument relating to the Moro raids is highly unlikely because the raids were not only conductes on Christian settlements but also on tribal or non-Christian in Mindanao (Loyre, 1991). Therefore, it can be concluded that the Moros conducted raids not as just a way to drive the Christians away like we envisioned, but for them to express their strength and their power through slavery. It was their way of reacting in the arrival of the Spaniards and the threat they brought in the Moros' socio-political and economic status; and because it was a part of their life and their economic lifestyle. 

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During the Moro raids, thousands of lives were taken while more were taken for slavery. Villages, towns and churches were burned down. These raids were a series of bloodshed and destruction. Today, watchtowers are scattered all over the coasts of Luzon, Visayas and Northern Mindanao, reminding us of what tragedies happened in Christian communities before. Not only watchtowers but also forts, scatter in parts of the archipelago. Consequently, many coastal inhabitants were forced to move inland and some inland settlements came into existence. With this, the interior continued to grow and to progress. It also led to the establishment of Christian settlements in Mindanao. Although this resettlement was a program that proved to be effective but also led to continued heightening of the mistrust between the Christians and the Muslims which created an extreme atmosphere in Mindanao. Because of this, disputes in Mindanao continue to happen, disputes like bombing and wars which affect the Filipinos in Mindanao greatly in which a lot of lives are lost through bloodshed and infrastructures burn to the ground.

References:

Non, D. (1993, March). Moro Piracy During the Spanish Period and its Impact. Retrieved from https://kyoto-seas.org>pdf.

Spanish Influences and How it Affects Us: Good or Bad?

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Through the years, the Filipinos were under colonization of different and more powerful countries, one of which (and the first) was the Spaniards. After 300 years of subjugation to the Spaniards, the Philippines and the Filipino people were never the same as before. They adapted to the way of living of their colonizers. Of course, in 300 years why wouldn’t we expect the Filipino people change according to these colonizers’ practices. Given the amount of time of subjugation, it expected for Filipinos to live according to these changes or influences even up to the present. Some prove to be good, some are bad, and some uumm depends on perspectives. Since many believe that the Spaniards are these evil colonizers who took away our freedom, confused our identities or in shorter terms “destroyed everything”; let us destroy the Spaniards’ reputation even further.

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Many wonder when the term “Filipino Time” started. Well, according to some sources, Filipino time started during the Spanish colonization when arriving late constitutes with you being a very important or powerful person. Apparently, during those times the more late you were, the higher your social status is. Other sources would argue that Filipino time developed because during social gatherings, Filipinos or Indios would be asked (or required) to arrive 30 minutes to an hour later than their Spanish colonizers. Although for me, the latter would explain so much why Filipinos are always late to gatherings or group meetings; am I right? However, whichever is true, the sources agree on one thing; that Filipino time did start during the Spanish colonization era.  For those who wonder, the term “Filipino time” was not invented until the Americans came and were irritated by the lack of punctuality of the Filipinos.

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In another light, the Spaniards have given us gatherings to look forward to, events to celebrate, times to just be happy and enjoy all the sounds, colors, lights, the music and of course the dancing! These celebrations influenced by the Spaniards are called fiestas. These festive events bring joy to the Filipino people because they are able to enjoy a lot of good food with good company including, of course, their loved ones. Fiestas give us the perfect excuse to visit distant relatives whom we haven’t seen the whole year or maybe even longer. Even in just a day of celebration, it brings us closer to the ones we love and makes us feel more connected since fiestas are celebrations based on a local culture. In Pateros, we celebrate the Fiesta of Sta. Martha and my family hosts a celebration wherein we prepare and serve food popular to the Pateros people including the famous balut. In my family’s experiences throughout the years, the preparations for these fiestas may sometimes be stressful but for sure when that day finally comes, all the hard work would be worth it. For sure all of us enjoy these festivities!

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And in another other light, the Spaniards brought to us Catholicism. As a Catholic and a firm believer of the Lord I would say that Catholicism is indeed a blessing to the Filipinos. But I cannot speak for the whole population of the Filipino people so this paragraph will be solely based on my opinions only. In our times today, I would say that it seems outrageous to believe that nature could be our god, things like trees, winds or seas. I could not imagine modern Filipinos still praying to the same trees, the same flowers, mountains as ancient Filipinos did before. The Spaniards gave us (or me) something to believe in. Some may say that the Lord is the same as the trees the ancient Filipinos pray upon before; or that there is no proof that God really does exist. And I would say that what you are saying is absolutely true in which I can only argue, I believe because I want to and I choose to believe.

With all this it can be concluded that the Spaniards did not only bring horrors and terrible experiences to the Filipinos (although what they did was pretty horrible), but they also gave us some things to look forward to (like the fiestas) and something to ponder upon (religion). No matter what happened, it is all part of the past now, OUR past so it is still best to never forget about it because it is a part of whom we are now. No matter the influences the colonizers have given us, the Filipinos will always be the Filipinos. Our identity is not lost in the past as some of us would believe, our identity is here with us in the present. We are Filipinos!

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References: 

Batongbakal, L. (2016, October 20). The Intriguing History of Filipino Time.  Retrieved from https://newsbits.mb.com.ph/2016/10/11/the-intriguing-history-of-filipino-time/

Tan, B. (2016, March 23). Why Filipinos Follow Filipino Time. Retrived from https://medium.com/@btantheman/why-filipinos-follow-filipino-time-d38e2c162927

Sison, S. (2015, April 23). Can We Get Rid of Filipino Time?. Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/views/imho/90791-get-rid-filipino-time