Filipino, 1986
by gloria d m ong
dear mga kabayan--here's
a love song for the
Filipino of 1986 (published in
an american newspaper).
mabuhay ! --g
you must have heard it--
the clarion call for freedom...
from a vaguely-remembered primal past--
echoes of pinaglabanan
bataan
besang pass
leyte
pugad-lawin
lingayen...
to the not-so-long-ago battle cries of
bayan! kalayaan! makibaka!
at plaza miranda, mendiola and the rotunda,
reverberating,
summoning you to transcend daily lives,
to become part of history
along the stretch of edsa
from ortigas to santolan
converging at camps aguinaldo and crame.
you did it, Filipino--
long unseen, unheard, unheeded,
you sent one poor custodian of his genius
slinking off to the sidelines,
having exhausted his vocabulary and his rage,
his bullet-ridden opportunism,
scurrying from his sclerotic house of cards
knocked down by your refreshing breeze,
his misstep
and advertent move of an alien hand.
kababayan, beleaguered by fear
on those desolate nights,
you stood up and were counted,
speaking out in the spirit of '96
tending the mounded dust of yore
finding its pulsebeat
and rising to a new dawn.
what a motley crowd you were!
catholic church
other faiths
all ages
moderates
opposition
elite
impoverished poor
professionals
military
civilian...
but what a monolith!
ere pursuing separate destinies
now twined your dreams together
and with moral courage
discovered the beings inside you
you might not have gotten to know
sans your people power,
prayer power
and faith in a just GOD.
thus flowers scentsitized tanks,
rosaries froze artilleries,
conscience became the battlefield
as you stood your ground,
overcoming the lingering resistance
diluting military might
liberating them from iron fetters
shackled heavily to their souls.
i salute you.
mene, mene, tekel upharsin
you were weighed and not found wanting--
nameless faces,
unsung masses,
this isn't the end but a beginning,
not death but heroism,
tempered and tested
you have served notice to the world
"there are no tyrants where there are no slaves."
"there were those who kept vigil in the night of our forefathers."
you have come of age,
you have arrived.
this love song is for you,
oh, Filipino !
Ikaapat. Ibigin mo ang iyong bayan ó Inang bayan na
ka-ikalawa ng Dios at ng iyong puri at higit sa iyong sarili, sa
pagka't siya ang nacaisa-isang Paraisong pinaglagian sa iyo ng Dios sa
buhay na itó; bugtong na pasunod sa iyong lahi; nacaisa-isang mamamana
mo sa iyong mga pinagnuno; at siya lamang pagasa ng iyong inanak; dahil
sa kaniya'y humahawak ka ng buhay, pagibig at pagaari; natatamo mo ang
kaginhawahan, kapurihan at ang Dios.(hinalaw sa Sampung Utos)
--Apolinario M Mabini--