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Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Editorial: Bonifacio's rage
IT'S the 104th birth anniversary of national hero Andres Bonifacio but if he were alive he would perhaps be the first to summon a revolution not just against the Arroyo regime but all the others that went before it.
At least that's how ardent followers of Bonifacio who include among others the New People's Army (NPA) see it as they point to former's fight against the Spaniards as proof of the need for this country's liberation from foreign influence--namely the Americans.
Though if he were alive today he can only sympathize and perhaps weep for the thousands of Filipino overseas contract workers (OCWs) who are forced to seek work outside and serve foreign masters all in the name of survival.
While the Arroyo administration arrogantly trumpets its latest economic victories in truth it was the continued heroism of the OCWs that have managed to keep this economy afloat and gave something for us earthbound Filipinos a reason to cheer about.
Though service and to a greater extent subservience to the foreign powers that be which also includes Eastern nations like Communist China carries with it a price; and that if Bonifacio were alive today he would not only weep but be enraged at the depths to which that subservience now lay.
Specifically he would have been furious over the Arroyo government's continued pussy-footing over the rape case of one young Filipina whose American GI tormentors didn't even have the respect nor even the courtesy of appearing before the court.
If Bonifacio were alive, today he may do more than just join protest rallies and marches; he'd probably march towards the American embassy and attempt to torch the place down. Or so some of his ardent followers would insist.
Whether there is any basis to believe that or not the fact remains that there is an urgent need for some, if not all of us to act immediately and decisively towards the injustice and persecution that is imposed by either foreigners or our own fellow Filipinos.
If he were alive today he would be the first to march down and torch those pillaging our forests and depleting our resources. If he were alive today...
If there is anything that Bonifacio taught us in his short life here on Earth it is that sometimes one must forget niceties and set aside reservations in order to resolve and stamp out injustices.
Easier said than done but even Bonifacio who had his personal and economic limitations didn't let these stop him from leading a revolution that fired up the Filipinos even if it didn't achieve his dream of freedom and independence.
(November 30, 2005 issue)
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