Duterte’s fight for independence – No guts, no glory!

Why wouldn’t you support Duterte’s call for achieving “true” independence? If you think about it, he is the only President who has looked back at the history of the struggles of our people for freedom. In just three months, he has moved mountains, has shifted our paradigm and has begun the conquest for a new Philippines.

Just last week, history was made with the presence of Nur Misuari in Malacañang. Yes, Nur Misuari isn’t a saint but his presence and submission to Digong is a clear message that he wants ‘peace’ in Mindanao. Yes, he was and still is a rebel. He was a former professor at the University of the Philippines. As he said, his first love was teaching. But he got frustrated with the way Marcos ran the country. He was disappointed with the lies and disrespect that was happening. This led to his hurt, anger, and eventually aggressiveness resulting to the MNLF’s revolution. Misuari has I guess reached a point in his life when he is ready to achieve peace in a better way, hopefully laying down his arms and balancing the tide.

Another historical moment last week was the confirmation of the new US Ambassador Sung Kim to the Philippines. I bet the US State Department had to carefully decide on a good envoy, someone who can convince our new President that the US is not an enemy but an ally. Let’s see how this Asian rooted US Ambassador will do. The Philippines is old enough to know what independence is all about. Ambassador Sung Kim should know how to handle the US affairs in the Philippines and learn from the “Goldberg” experience. This is a crucial period in Philippine-American relations.

What is Duterte fighting for? Why does he want to cut our ties with the US government? You will have to study history in order to appreciate what this man is doing for us. Did the Philippines attain ‘true’ independence in 1946? Don’t forget we were sold by Spain to America for a whooping $20 million. Of course many want to believe that we were given independence by the Americans. But they didn’t leave the islands. They stayed and took a special interest in us. They called us their “allies” for almost 118 years and created some dependency towards one another. Quite inseparable. But now, we are coming to new realizations about the relationship which only seemed to benefit the “privileged” ones who have been protecting it all this time. What’s going to happen next? Abangan!

If we look back over the entire history of our people, through our own eyes and the criterion of truth and of facts, and not from the politically arrogant viewpoint of invaders and the prejudices of foreigners, we would see that the love of freedom has been a paramount virtue and a consuming passion in the Filipino heart. That is why for 350 years we fought against Spain and never gave up. Even if what has been written in history seems garbled by the misconceptions and prejudices foisted on us by the politically biased historians and writers, who considered it to their interest to hold us in scorn and ridicule, falsely portraying us as an inferior race. Sanamagan!

Oftentimes, foreign invaders come to our shores in the guise of wanting to befriend us through political alliances. This is how the Spaniards gained our islands through blood compact, treaties of equality, brotherhood and alliances. But after gaining more control of the country and over the people they start to use force and only then do we Filipinos realize the burden of subjection.

History will also tell us that it was the Spaniards (during the Spanish Colonial Era) who brought the Dutch and the British invaders to fight in our land; it was the Americans who brought the Japanese to destroy Manila after the attack of Pearl Harbor and maybe just maybe as Digong has quipped, it may be the presence of the Americans in Mindanao that has delayed us from achieving the home-grown peace that our people deserve.

The long series of revolts from the first armed attempt at the Battle of Maktan led by Kalipulako in April 26, 1521 where Magellan was killed and driven away; the revolt in Pampanga in 1585; the uprising in Ilocos and Cagayan in 1589; Magalat’s revolt in Cagayan Valley in 1596; an Igorot revolt in 1601; revolt in Bohol and Leyte in 1622; successful rebellion of Diego Silang in 1762; uprising in Nueva Vizcaya in 1805; the Novales mutiny in 1823 to the episodes of Balintawak; the heroic martyrdom at Bagumbayan and the triumphant Philippine Republic at Barasoain and the epic stand at Tirad Pass and so on and so forth, all these have shown us how the Filipinos never wavered in the fight for independence.

Today, the President is completing the final march to victory for the Filipinos. He has re-positioned the country making it independent like the rest of the countries in Asia. We cannot develop any further if we continue to keep foreign alliances. We must begin to stand on neutral ground and as we do this, we are protecting our land and our people. There is a lot of work to do in so short a time.

Independence is so precious that nations have willingly undergone hardships and made the greatest sacrifices to obtain and keep it. Our ancestors have for almost five hundred years unceasingly toiled, fought and waited for the independence of our country, and it is for us of this generation to carry to completion the work that they so valiantly commenced and so courageously carried on for centuries.

Many have asked: Will we be able to defend ourselves without an ally? Now, isn’t that sad. As a country we can only become great if we strive and work hard for it. Why should we depend on others to defend us? Why should we depend on nations to give us food? We should be determined to do the best we can in intelligent, courageous and collective action. Clearly, we need to revise, improve and strengthen our national defense in land and sea. We cannot and should not just placidly look on such a situation, affecting, as it does, all of us, our children and our prosperity. We cannot just live for the day, and be satisfied with the even, light-hearted tenor of the hour.

The Juan Tamad syndrome of dependency won’t work in this generation. It is a rat race out there and we are clearly left behind. So, don’t mess up this opportunity we have right now. This is our chance. Many countries were once weak and are now strong. It takes sheer determination. No guts, no glory!