Nation and family

Today the nation marks the 124th anniversary of the Proclamation of Independence, making it the first Republic in Asia. Although short-lived, it would be the spearhead of similar nationalist uprisings in the region following the end of World War II. It was in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898 that President Emilio Aguinaldo proudly unfurled the country’s new flag, explaining to the people that the colors of the emblem – red, white and blue – were actually a salute to “the flag of the United States of America as a manifestation of our profound gratitude towards that Great Nation for the disinterested protection she is extending to us and will continue to extend to us.” It did not turn out to be quite as Aguinaldo envisioned for the nation, and would result in one of his greatest mistakes.

It would be worthwhile to keep in mind a number of events that took place, eventually leading to the Kawit celebration. The first was the August “Cry of Balintawak,” with Katipunan Supremo Andres Bonifacio calling on his followers to tear up their cedula as a sign of protest and revolt against an oppressive government. The following month saw the capture of Imus by forces of Emilio Aguinaldo. This victory led to the rise of Aguinaldo in the ranks of the revolutionaries. As the revolt spread, Spain appointed a new governor general, Camilo Polavieja. During five months of continuous operations, Polavieja conducted a terror campaign against non-combatants, employing mass executions and torture. The Spanish community welcomed the new governor enthusiastically, calling on him to destroy “the cannibals of the forest, the wild beasts and savages” who had dared to rise up against Spain. The friars hailed him as their messiah but his greatest error was the kangaroo trial and execution by firing squad of Dr. Jose Rizal on Dec. 30, 1896.

At first the Spanish-American War led to a complementation of US and Filipino military forces; the US Navy controlled Manila Bay, while Philippine rebels forced Spanish forces into a humiliating retreat behind Manila’s walls. But with the arrival of more US land forces, Americans and Spaniards worked out a deal clearly excluding Filipinos and, after a sham Battle of Manila, the Spaniards surrendered to the newcomers and US troops moved in to occupy the city. A few months later, the Philippine American War would erupt with US troops firing on Filipino rebels who were deemed to be “intruders.”

The war would last for several years, but slowly, American rule became firmly entrenched throughout the islands. It would take close to half-a-century before the nation celebrated Independence Day again. In 1962, President Diosdado Macapagal restored Independence Day from July 4, 1946 to June 12, 1898.

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My father Modesto Farolan was born at the turn of the Century on June 12, 1900, two years after the proclamation of Philippine Independence with the Philippine-American War very much in progress. He was the youngest son of middle-class landowners in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte. Although he was one of the first graduates of UP High, he was not one with much interest in classroom education, and what he received from high school would represent his only formal education. Shortly after graduation, he decided to work full-time with the old Manila Daily Bulletin, working first as an all-around coffee boy before moving up to being a cub reporter. It is difficult to understand how he got through the newspaper business on a high school diploma. But from being a lowly cub reporter, he rose to become editor and publisher of the Philippines Herald, one of the leading dailies of his time. One can only ascribe such success to hard work, discipline, determination and self-study. In the words of his good friend, the late Benjamin Salvosa, president of the Baguio Colleges Foundation (now the University of the Cordilleras), he was “the acme of the informal process of self-education and self-discipline.”

President Ramon Magsaysay appointed him the nation’s first head of the Commission for Tourism, forerunner of today’s Department of Tourism. His work in this field would earn him the title of “Father of Philippine Tourism,” and he would be honored posthumously with the Kalakbay Lifetime Achievement Award for “developing Philippine tourism as a means of bringing in foreign exchange, so essential to the economic stability and prosperity of the country.”

A few years later, president Diosdado Macapagal moved him to the foreign service as ambassador to South Vietnam and Cambodia and later, to Switzerland. His last assignment was ambassador to Indonesia under president Ferdinand Marcos. When I was posted to the same country, a few years later, some his old friends confided to me that they thought Modesto Farolan was starting a second tour of duty in Indonesia. My stay in that country made me realize that one of the great things about our Indonesian cousins is their strong sense of nationalism as reflected in the pride and reverence that they held for their national colors. For days prior to marking their Independence Day on Aug. 17, the simple red and white flag of Indonesia is prominently displayed in the front of most homes throughout the land. This could only indicate a strong love of country that has kept a nation of some 13,000 islands united in the face of conflict and natural disasters. Today, how many homes in our respective communities and how many government offices display the Philippine flag to mark Independence Day?

Modesto Farolan served under six Philippine presidents from Manuel Roxas to Ferdinand Marcos, and he always reminded me that “as a public official you do not serve any individual. You serve your country and your people.”

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