“I die without seeing the dawn brighten over my native land. You who have it to see, welcome it – and forget not those who have fallen during the night.” This was what Jose Rizal said in his message to the youth on the eve of his execution in Bagumbayan (now Luneta) on December 30, 1896.
It has been 113 years after Rizal’s execution and we still haven’t seen the dawn of a new day. Exploitation, abuse and suffering still exist. And even after Ninoy Aquino’s death in 1983 and the EDSA People Power Revolt in 1986, corruption has worsened and degenerated every fiber of our nation.
Today, we have a stubborn President minding her own business. She is always out of sight. Well, actually, out of the country – ha! ha! She seems to be only addressing the poor and the downtrodden but the taxpayers, she avoids. It is her press secretaries we often see sending her messages to the people. We do not see her at all.
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How can we just let Jose Rizal’s memories come to pass on the day of his birthday. Last week, we read about how green his ancestral home is as the local folk in his hometown of Calamba, Laguna expressed dismay on the color of their only treasured shrine. As one boldly said, “it looks like a disco house with neon colors.” The National Historical Institute (NHI) had the house painted. They could have chosen a color scheme and architectural patterns that emulates the period in which he was born. Anyway, I am sure the NHI will do something about it.
By the way, years ago I remember how the NHI enjoined the Sangguniang Bayan of Bayambang, Pangasinan, to show regard for the statue of Rizal in the town’s public plaza where it stands by not uprooting it. The municipal council then, wanted to “move” the statue to a lesser corner of the plaza in the poblacion to make way for the construction of a building housing a local mortgage bank. Apparently, the Sangguniang Bayan entered into a lease contract with the mortgage bank authorizing the bank to erect its headquarters at the heart of the plaza.
I remember my dad writing about it saying: What kind of people are we? Aren’t public plazas classified as properties belonging to the public domain – and therefore beyond the commerce of man? By what right did the town’s vice-mayor and eight members of the town council enter into that flawed contract with the operators, supposed to be pillars of the community who should be fully aware that they cannot build on what pertains to the public domain? Where are our values? Are we going to “sell out” each time somebody offers of cash comes along? Several mayors have plans to convert parts of town plazas into commercial centers where mini shopping malls will dominate the square. Centuries ago in our country, plazas as places of public assembly and recreation, and as sites of ceremonies and mass rallies, have been sacrosanct. Now they are at the mercy of the bulldozer and the commercial builder.
Truly, when a nation begins to barter its soul for silver or gold, then it has reason to fear for its future.
My father wrote about Rizal’s 144th birthday (in June 20, 2005). Reading his column, I found how relevant his opinions are to this day – we just seem to stay the same. Things never changed. “Yesterday would have been Jose Rizal’s 144th birthday. But he died young. Coming from a family of ardent Rizalistas, I’ll have to admit that Rizal disagreed with the Revolution, his two burning novels of protest, the Noli and the Fili had done much to inspire and provoke. Gat Andres Bonifacio, the founder of the katipunan, was disappointed when the delegates he sent to Rizal’s place of exile in Dapitan to beg him to lead the Revolution came with a “no.” Emilio Aguinaldo of the Katipunan was also disappointed.”
“Indeed, On December 15, 1892, Rizal had even issued a manifesto to his fellow Filipinos repudiating the Revolution: “On my return from Spain I learned that my name was being used as a war cry by those among you in arms against Spain… From the very beginning, when I first had knowledge of what was being planned, I was in opposition to it, I fought the idea and demonstrated its absolute impossibility… I was convinced that the scheme was utterly absurd and, what was worse, would bring nothing but suffering.
I have given proofs how anxious I am for liberties for our country, and I am no less anxious for them now. But I posit as prior condition the education of the people. Only through instruction and study may our country deserve those liberties…Holding this, I cannot do less than condemn, and I do condemn, the present uprising as foolish, savage, and against my wish… I have only pity for those who have allowed themselves to be taken in by the false hopes it aroused. Return, then, to your homes. You cannot win. God forgive those who have acted in bad faith.”
“The fatal mistake was made by the Spaniards. They arrested Rizal and accused him of having fomented the Revolution. In a quick trial, he was condemned to death. At 7 o’clock in the morning of December 30, he was shot by a firing squad in the field of Bagumbayan (in Luneta).”
“Rizal’s death further strengthened and made widespread the Revolution he had spunned. Everyone of us whose grandfathers or great-grandfathers were proud Katipuneros and Revolucionarios knows this well.”
It is timely to remember what kind of man Rizal was. His thoughts and writings should serve as an inspiration for the next generation. Revolution in any form will only further divide the country. It will not create the much needed reforms that will improve the lives of the Filipino people – but rather add more sufferings. Too much unrest at this time is no longer good for us. All these cries for change whether in the streets or in the halls of the Senate and Congress are absurd and foolish. Yes, it’s time for a revolution – but what we really need is a revolution of the heart.