Blogs from Jupiter

Eight years ago, I was a part of an ad-hoc government agency that was in-charge of the Philippine Independence Day celebration. But what made that celebration special was that independence day was at its 100 years. We just celebrated its 108th anniversary today, and despite the less hoopla and the so called "indifference" of most people nowadays, the spirit of nationalism– that sense of nationhood– (I believe) is still alive in our hearts and minds. I think the indifference is brought about by the ugly poverty… social injustice… that most people would rather think of survival than celebrate. At the back of our minds, we still identify with our being a Filipino as our survival instincts itself define our Filipino-ness. If there’s one nation in this world who knows survival, and learned and experienced it the hard way, that nation is definetely that archipelago called P.I. Our history says it all… 300 years of Spanish rule, 20 years of America, four years of Japanese imperialism, 20 years of dictatorship, three EDSA revolutions, and a cycle of boom and bust… and don’t forget the Filipino global diaspora of migrant workers. If you have been surviving, and surviving with grace and attitude, then you’re one great Flip!    

Happy Independence Day especially to my former colleages at the National Centennial Commission!