I am Filipino by Alexander Lacson (Reprint)

I am Filipino
By Alexander L. Lacson
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:02:00 01/02/2009

One of the most important things we need today as a people is a beautiful way of looking at ourselves as Filipinos, a positive and healthy image of ourselves, a wonderful definition of ourselves as a people. Our children especially need to believe that there is greatness and beauty in us as a people and as a race.

So much beauty and greatness can spring from a beautiful mind and a faithful heart.

But loving ourselves as Filipinos is not only patriotism or nationalism. There is a reason higher than that. It is primarily about stewardship. It is loving what God has given us. God gave to each one of us the Filipino and the Philippines, for us to love and care for. But how is the Filipino in our hands today? How is the Philippines, the land God gave to us as a people, in our hands today?

It is for this reason that I wrote the poem below. I give this poem as my humble gift to all of you, my fellow Filipinos. You are the brothers and sisters, the family of people, God gave to me.

It is my hope that this poem will help develop in us and in our children a healthy sense of faith and love in the Filipino, in ourselves as a people. For truly, our Creator wants us to have faith in and love for the Filipino.

Here it is:

I am Filipino. I am a child of the One God who is the Creator of all that is in our world and the universe. I am as perfect and as beautiful as my Creator planned me to be, for God created me in His image, out of His perfect love.

I am a beloved child of God, like everyone else in our world, no less than the stars above or anyone else below. As such, I have equal right and claim to all the beauty and bounty that God provided in my country and in the world.

I am an equal part of the family of humanity. I am therefore a sibling to all the men and women of our world, brethren to all Christians, to all Muslims, to all Jews, to all Buddhists, and all other peoples whose faiths lie somewhere else.

I am Filipino. My Creator planted me on a specific spot on earth, where the sun always shines, in an archipelago of 7,107 wonderful islands, which the whole world calls the “Pearl of the Orient.” Pilipinas is the country God gave to me and my people. It is the birthplace of my race. It is the home of the Filipino.

The beauty and richness of my country lured many mighty powers of the world to invade our shores. So today, my blood is a mixture of the best and the finest of the West and the East. My mind is an heir to all the great thoughts of the West, and the great virtues of the East. My heart beats with the romanticism of the West and the passion of the East.

I am Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Juan Luna, Ninoy Aquino and all those who fought for our land to become a nation of free people. I am the grandeur of Banaue, the enchantment of Boracay, the serenity of Manila Bay, and the depth and breadth of Tubbataha Reef.

I am Filipino. My Creator’s plan is for me to live my life as a Filipino and therefore, in my heart and in my mind, I shall always be a Filipino wherever I may be in the world. God wants me to belong to the Filipino family and as such, I am a “kapatid” [brother] to anyone and everyone who is Filipino, wherever he or she may be on earth.

You will know me by the word “po” in my sentences. You will know my children by their “mano po.” You will know me by the smile on my face and the warmth of my hospitality. Most important of all, you will know me by my loving and caring heart when you are in need of help, even if you are a stranger.

As a child of God, my Creator has a beautiful story for me and my people. And the story we see today is but a fleeting portion of that beautiful story that has yet to fully unfold before the eyes of the world.

I am Filipino. I am who I am today because of the role God wants me to play.

I am born to succeed. God has equipped me, within me and around me, with all the essentials I need to succeed in this world. God truly wants the highest, the best, and the most beautiful for me, because I am His child.

I am destined to be great. God planted seeds of beauty and greatness in me. He truly wants me to be great and beautiful, for God truly wants me to add more beauty and greatest to our world.

I am Filipino. I am born of freedom, in a free country. As such, I dedicate my freedom to ensuring that my people and country shall always remain free. I shall use my freedom to help other peoples, in my country or in other parts of the world, gain their own freedom.

I am born of love, out of God’s immeasurable love, in a country and in a world that can only be made beautiful by love. Love is the reason why God made me. It is what He wants me to bring into this world, so love shall be who I am.

I am born as part of the whole, as part of the answer to the question, as part of the solution to the problem, as part of the hope to our people. I am born to help the Filipino become great not only in the eyes of the world but, more so, in the eyes of our Lord.

I am Filipino. I am a faithful child of God. I shall live my life to do God’s work on earth, to help build a beautiful country for my Filipino family, and a better world for all humanity. And soon the world shall see the full measure of the greatness of Filipino, for truly the world has yet to see what God can do to and through a child, like the Filipino, who is faithful to the Lord.

I am Filipino.

Alexander Lacson is author of the Book “12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do To Help Our Country.” Email: alacsonph@yahoo.com.

Remember the Martial Law Years?

Do you remember where you were or what you were doing when Martial Law was declared in 1972?

Maybe, this list can jog your sluggish braincells :) :

1. Una mong nakita si Herbert Bautista sa Kaluskos Musmos at nagtataka ka kung bakit nahihirapan si Dranreb Belleza na bigkasin ang titik “R.” Lalaking-lalaki pa noon si Dranreb.

2.Ang sakbayan!3. Bumibili ka ng Vick’s candy -- hugis-trianggulo, regular and kalamansi flavor. At huwag kalimutan ang Tarzan bubblegum!

4. Nagpalit ng theme song ang John en Marsha to the tune of Michael Jackson’s Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough. Nagkaroon na sila ng aircon sa barung-barong na bahay pero front cover lang pala.

5. Baduy na baduy ka sa opening ng TODAS (Television’s Outrageously Delightful All-star Show) sa Channel 13, with Val Sotto, Spanky Rigor, and Frida Fonda.

6. Sina Bibeth, Mang Tem-i, Miss Tapia, Mary at Tonette Macho ang mga kasama ng Tito, Vic en Joey sa Iskul Bukol. Kumpleto pa ang ngipin ni Richie D’Horsie.

7. Si Amparo Munoz ang Miss Universe 1974 na ginanap ang pageant sa Manila.
8. Uso ang miniskirts at bell-bottom pants, platform/elevator shoes.

9. Bagong labas lang ang bakya na rubberized (Happy Feet brand) para malambot, hindi na kahoy.

10. Ang marijuana at madrax ang sikat sa mga adik!

11. Ang walkman mo o iyong nakikita mo ay halos kalahati ng laki ng AM radio. Marami kang nakikitang malalaking cassette/radio player na galing Saudi. Pinapatugtog mo ay mga tapes na pirata na may lyric sheet pero mali-mali ang lyrics.

12. Kapag 25 centavos ang ibinigay mo sa nagkakaroling na mga bata eh hindi ka kakantahan ng “Thank you, thank you, ang babarat ninyo, thank you!”

13. Singko sentimos lang ang isang fishball. Wala pang squid ball o kikiam.

14. Magaling ka sa Math, kasi, mayroon kang ballpen na mataba at may built-in multiplication table na iniikot. Iyong ballpen na napakaraming option sa kulay ng tinta, karamihan ay hindi makita o natuyo na ang tinta.

15. Gusto rootbeer, Lemolime, Sunta and Mirinda orange, RC Cola, and Sarsi with egg with Danny Vanni -- masarap na, masustansya pa.

16. Watching the Caronia nail polish advertisement sa TV with the 4 pa-sexy girls.

17. On Sundays, watching music videos on VH1 or Video Hit Parade (wala pang MTV sa Pinas) before, then Spin-A-Win (Jean Young) at lunch time Lovingly Yours (Helen Vela, Channel 7) or Happy Days and Electrawoman & Dyna Girl (Channel 9) in the early afternoon, Superstar (Nora Aunor and German Moreno, Channel 9) at dinner time, and capping it all off with Marvelous Golden Movies (MGM).

18. Archie Lacson as dancing guru sa Discorama with Bobby Ledesma and Tito, Vic and Joey. Ngayon, si Ralion Alonzo na sa Easy Dancing.

19. Lotlot, Lotlot and Monching. Lotlot and Friends. That’s Entertainment. That’s Entertainment Saturday Edition.

20. Uncle Bob’s Lucky 7 Club show on Channel 7. Bakit ganoon lang ang mga premyo niya?

21. Ang basketbrawls ng Toyota at Crispa.22. You had a P2 bill (color blue) in your wallet. Puro ganoon pa ang ibinibigay ng lolo/lola tuwing Christmas.

23. Ang standard greeting ay “give me five” na nag-evolve into “appear.”

24. Biggest name in ice cream ay Magnolia kaya inaabangan mo ang susunod na Flavor of the Month. Papel lang ang mga balot ng frozen delights, hindi pa foil except iyong vanilla ice cream wafer sandwich nila. May sundae sila na tinatanggal ang top cover at inilalagay sa ilalim para maging base.

25. Ang Christmas package na inuuwi ng magulang mo ay may kasamang malaking keso de bola at hilaw na chinese ham (buong leg na nakabalot ng craft at plastic na net na kulay pula).

26. Pumupunta ka sa music store para tumingin ng LPs, 45, at Jingle magazine o Songhits. Pwede mo lang pakinggan ang plaka kung bibilhin mo na.

27. Ang bakla lang sa showbiz ay sina Georgie Quizon (utol ni Dolphy) at Sandy Garcia (mestisuhin na may bigote, kulot ang buhok, at balbunin).

28. Nagkakabuhul-buhol ang chord ng remote control ng betamax ninyo dahil buong araw kang nanonood. Break mo lang ay para kumain, mag-CR at para lumamig uli ang betamax unit. Madali pang dumumi ang head kasi hindi pa uso ang rewinder. Kung mayroon na kayo eh one way lang siya — rewinding — wala pang option na forward.

29. Pinakamabentang poster ay kina Shaun Cassidy, Leif Garret, Bruce Lee, Scott Baio, Farrah Faucet, Phoebe Cates at Bo Derek (kuha sa movie na 10). Kung sosyal ka, showbiz magazine mo ay Tiger Beat. Kung baduy ka eh Jingle Extra Hot.

30. Pinapanood mo at pinakikinggan ang Menudo with Robbie Rosa as the most sikat of all members. Nakukyutan pa lang kayo kay Ricky Martin, kasi siya ang pinakamaliit.

31. Pag nilalagnat ka, Royco chicken noodle alphabet soup ang kinakain mo — hinahaluan mo ng dinurog na Skyflakes.

32. Hearing Bert Tawa Marcelo’s laugh — bawat tawa eh P50 daw ang talent fee niya.

33. Shutting off your TV and watching that white spot on the middle of the screen slowly disappear.

34. Sumasakay ka sa jeepney na puro kabayo ang hood, tadtad ng mahahabang antenna, at halos natakpan na ang windshield ng 8-track na tapes.

35. Watching and listening to the We Are The World version of the Philippine National Anthem.

36. Be sure to be home by 12:00 midnight. May curfew,kasi, Martial Law. Kung hindi makakauwi, stay-in!

37. Uso ang whiteside wall na haircut sa mga cats kasi bawal ang longhair.

38. Sa ikauunlad ng bayan, disiplina ang kailangan.

39. PLEDGES ng New Society - Peace and order, Land tenure, Education, Development of moral values, Government, Economic development, and Social Services.

40. Stockade para sa mga suspected na akitibista. Walang school papers, kung meron man, kailangan dumaan sa Media Board for censorship.

Philippines - One Country, Three New Years

The Philippines celebrates three New Years!

New Year's Day - January 1The most commonly-celebrated national holiday at the start each year signifying new beginnings, hence New Year's resolutions are made to be kept/broken on this day. January was derived Janus, the two-faced Roman god of gates, doors, beginnings and endings. Interestingly, the word Janitor was also coined from this god's name.

Amon Jaded - January 9 (date varies depending on Islamic calendar)

More of a cultural, rather than a religious, event which Muslims in the country celebrate (also a national holiday) on the first day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar which also marks the Hijra or emigration Prophet Muhammad made to the city now known as Medina.

Chinese New Year - February 7 Year of the Earth Rat (date varies depending on Lunar calendar)February 7 marks the first day of the China Lunar calendar year of 4705. The Chinese calendar follows a 12-year cycle starting with the years of the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. This order was established by Buddha based on the arrivals of the said animals to the meeting he called. The Chinese New Year also marks the Spring Festival. Many Chinese customs, beliefs and superstitions (on fireworks, clothes, fruits/food) were adopted by Pinoys to celebrate the New Year on January 1.