Independence Day for us, I bet, is just another holiday we look forward to. No work and no classes. Unlike Christmas or Holy Week that have deep meanings for us.
Celebrating independence would have no point unless it can nurture the following essential elements that make a country: (1) a sense of rootedness or historical awareness, (2) a heartfelt bond with others or sense of belonging, and (3) a personal commitment for the country or sense of mission for the common good. Only if we can go through these three bases, as it were, would we find the home plate that would then allow us all to jump for joy every Independence Day!
Many have said that we are a people without a sense of history. We easily forget. Proof of this is the recent Con-Ass move in the House of Representatives through House Resolution 1109 that is ultimately designed to perpetuate GMA in power. And what is really sad to note is that almost all our Bikolano Congressmen led by Louie Villafuerte shamelessly voted for this resolution.
When your leaders could simply play around with the constitution to suit their selfish interests, you certainly cannot expect people to have much faith in our country, much less, celebrate nationhood.
Indeed, the lingering problems no president has succeeded in solving remain as deeply rooted as ever: (1) the Moro rebellion, (2) the communist insurgency, and (3) the widespread poverty of our regions.
The Moro rebellion I must say is in fact a question of nationhood. Do we continue pursuing the concept of a “Filipino People,” a once useful fiction invented by our heroes to galvanize the struggle for independence from Spain, or is it time now to come to grips with the reality that we are historically a multi-people country? Hence, the long clamor for federalism?
The communist insurgency in turn is a question of ideology that goes into the essence of government. On paper we have a democratic and republican system, but in reality we continue to bear with the tyranny of a feudalistic society personified by the trapos perpetuating their family dynasties and the culture of political gimmickry that rules our elections. Unless, we can present a truly functioning system where the people are indeed the sovereign and where public officials are fully held accountable, there will always be among us who will take up arms or otherwise fight for alternative ideologies like communism.
And poverty across our regions confronts us with the ultimate failure of government in building “a just and humane society” and achieving “the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace.”
On this note, we ask and challenge our presidentiables with the foregoing questions. For that matter, not one of them seems to have provided us with a concrete plan, blueprint or agenda of governance to address these fundamental problems.