The Best Speech Ive Ever Read....

Over the years, I have been a fan of prominent political personalities in the Philippines, of their wit and their wisdom in dealing with things and most of all in presenting their speeches... I have read dozens of speeches from such Filipino's with the likes of:

President Ferdinand Marcos in his Mandate of Greatness Speech wherein he reiterated that:

"This nation can be great again. This I have said over and over. It is my articles of faith, and Divine Providence has willed that you and I can now translate this faith into deeds."

Ninoy Aquino's speech before the Asia Society wherein his very famous line was said:

"Is the Filipino worth suffering, or even dying, for? Is he not a coward who would readily yield to any colonizer, be he foreign or home-grown? Is a Filipino more comfortable under an authoritarian leader because he does not want to be burdened with the freedom of choice? Is he unprepared or, worse, ill-suited for presidential or parliamentary democracy?

I have carefully weighed the virtues and the faults of the Filipino and I have come to the conclusion that he is worth dying for because he is the nation’s greatest untapped resource

Mr. Marcos: Give us back our freedom or suffer the consequences of your arrogance.”

These people may have already been dead at present together with their idealism, perspectives and beliefs... But their speeches immortalized their being, up to this day we remember them for what they said and what they did....



Of all the speeches that I have read in my entire life... the best for me would be the one by Carlos P. Romulo entitled, "I Am A Filipino". It encompasses the greatness of our race, the struggles, the triumphs and even the downside moments... Reading such masterpiece enriches my mind, but most of all it touches the my very soul that reminds me to love myself and be proud to be a Filipino no matter what happens, I'll always be a Filipino...

Below is the excerpt of the speech that fueled my heart and passion to be a good citizen of this country:

I am a Filipino – inheritor of a glorious past, hostage to the uncertain future.  As such, I must prove equal to a two-fold task – the task of meeting my responsibility to the past, and the task of performing my obligation to the future.

I am sprung from a hardy race – child many generations removed of ancient Malayan pioneers. Across the centuries, the memory comes rushing back to me: of brown-skinned men putting out to sea in ships that were as frail as their hearts were stout.  Over the sea I see them come, borne upon the billowing wave and the whistling wind, carried upon the mighty swell of hope – hope in the free abundance of the new land that was to be their home and their children’s forever.

This is the land they sought and found.  Every inch of shore that their eyes first set upon, every hill and mountain that beckoned to them with a green and purple invitation, every mile of rolling plain that their view encompassed, every river and lake that promised a plentiful living and the fruitfulness of commerce, is a hollowed spot to me.

By the strength of their hearts and hands, by every right of law, human and divine, this land and all the appurtenances thereof – the black and fertile soil, the seas and lakes and rivers teeming with fish, the forests with their inexhaustible wealth in wild and timber, the mountains with their bowels swollen with minerals – the whole of this rich and happy land has been for centuries without number, the land of my fathers.  This land I received in trust from them, and in trust will pass it to my children, and so on until the world is no more.

I am a Filipino. In my blood runs the immortal seed of heroes – seed that flowered down the centuries in deeds of courage and defiance.  In my veins yet pulses the same hot blood that sent Lapulapu to battle against the alien foe, that drove Diego Silang and Dagohoy into rebellion against the foreign oppressor,

That seed is immortal.  It is the self-same seed that flowered in the heart of Jose Rizal that morning in Bagumbayan when a volley of shots put an end to all that was mortal of him and made his spirit deathless forever; the same that flowered in the hearts of Bonifacio in Balintawak, of Gregorio del Pilar at Tirad Pass, of Antonio Luna at Calumpit, that bloomed in flowers of frustration in the sad heart of Emilio Aguinaldo at Palanan, and yet burst forth royally again in the proud heart of Manuel L. Quezon when he stood at last on the threshold of ancient Malacanang Palace, in the symbolic act of possession and racial vindication.

The seed I bear within me is an immortal seed.  It is the mark of my manhood, the symbol of my dignity as a human being.  Like the seeds that were once buried in the tomb of Tutankhamen many thousands of years ago, it shall grow and flower and bear fruit again.  It is the insigne of my race, and my generation is but a stage in the unending search of my people for freedom and happiness.

I am a Filipino, child of the marriage of the East and the West.  The East, with its languor and mysticism, its passivity and endurance, was my mother, and my sire was the West that came thundering across the seas with the Cross and Sword and the Machine.  I  am of the East, an eager participant in its struggles for liberation from the imperialist yoke.  But I know also that the East must awake from its centuried sleep, shake off the lethargy that has bound its limbs, and start moving where destiny awaits.

For I, too, am of the West, and the vigorous peoples of the West have destroyed forever the peace and quiet that once were ours.  I can  no longer live, a being apart from those whose world now trembles to the roar of bomb and cannon shot.  For no man and no nation is an island, but a part of the main, and there is no longer any East and West – only individuals and nations making those momentous choices that are the hinges upon which history revolves.

At the vanguard of progress in this part of the world I stand – a forlorn figure in the eyes of some, but not one defeated and lost.  For through the thick, interlacing branches of habit and custom above me I have seen the light of the sun, and I know that it is good.  I have seen the light of justice and equality and freedom, my heart has been lifted by the vision of democracy, and I shall not rest until my land and my people shall have been blessed by these, beyond the power of any man or nation to subvert or destroy.

I am a Filipino, and this is my inheritance.  What pledge shall I give that I may prove worthy of my inheritance?  I shall give the pledge that has come ringing down the corridors of the centuries, and its hall be compounded of the joyous cries of my Malayan forebears when they first saw the contours of this land loom before their eyes, of the battle cries that have resounded in every field of combat from Mactan to Tirad Pass, of the voices of my people when they sing:

Land of the morning.

Child of the sun returning . . .

Ne’er shall invaders

Trample thy sacred shore.

Out of the lush green of these seven thousand isles, out of the heart-strings of sixteen million people all vibrating to one song, I shall weave the mighty fabric of my pledge.  Out  of the songs of the farmers at sunrise when they go to labor in the fields; out the sweat of the hard-bitten pioneers in Mal-ig and Koronadal; out of the silent endurance of stevedores at the piers and the ominous grumbling of peasants in Pampanga; out of the first cries of babies newly born and the lullabies that mothers sing; out of crashing of gears and the whine of turbines in the factories; out of the crunch of ploughs upturning the earth; out of the limitless patience of teachers in the classrooms and doctors in the clinics; out of the tramp of soldiers marching, I shall make the pattern of my pledge:

I am a Filipino born of freedom, and I shall not rest until freedom shall have been added unto my inheritance – for myself and my children’s – forever.

A Different Take on Ferdinand Marcos and Ninoy Aquino

The anniversary of EDSA 1 is fast approaching, and I believe that this article written by Nemenzo, Gemma from Filipinas (August 2008) is very timely and INTERESTING.

The title of the article is "A Different Take: An Interview with Rep. Roquito Ablan." A lot of you may not know him, but during the Marcos Era, he was a "force" back then.

Filipinos are made to believe that Ferdinand E. Marcos and Ninoy Aquino were really arch nemesis, rivals, and even foes. But from this interview, we can see the A DIFFERENT VIEW on what was really happening during those times.

So here it is....

                                                Ablan shaking hands with Pres. Marcos

While writing a book about Upsilon Sigma Phi, the fraternity both Ferdinand Marcos and Ninoy Aquino belonged to, Filipinas managing editor, Gemma Nemenzo, did a one-on-one interview with Congressman Roquito Ablan of Ilocos Norte.

Ablan had the unique privilege of being close to both Ninoy, his batchmate in Upsilon (batch 1950), and Marcos, the undisputed lord of Ablan's province. With such proximity to the two political superstars of that era, the congressman had a ringside view of what was happening behind the scenes of the Marcos-Aquino saga.

Is he credible?

People close to Marcos confirm that Roquito Ablan then had a direct line to the former president. Upsilonians also know that he and Ninoy Aquino remained close friends.

Here are excerpts from the interview: 


I first met Ninoy at the University of the Philippines (UP) when we were neophytes in 1950. He was a professional absentee from classes. I was working with LUSTEVECO then so I had an open expense account so I would gas up Ninoy's car.

The two of us were the most hazed neophytes in our batch. Our initiation lasted one year and one semester. We joined Upsilon because it was "the only frat in UP"; to be an Upsilonian, you must be good.

Ninoy and FM (Ferdinand Marcos) were more than friends. When Ninoy was in detention, he and FM would speak with scrambler telephones. During FM's state visit to the U.S. in 1982, the two of them talked for an hour about good times. 

FM was actually considering Ninoy as his successor. He admired Ninoy for his being a courageous fighter and his vigor. They were on the same wavelength.

In fact, Ninoy's "Iron Butterfly" speech against Imelda and the Folk Arts Theater was edited by FM. I know because I was the intermediary. From the very beginning, FM gave instructions to the military to be lenient with Ninoy.

I met up with Ninoy in New York on April 22, 1983, which was my birthday. He told me he needed a passport. secretary of Foreign Affairs Collantes had earlier issued a memo stating no renewal for Ninoy's passport. So I checked with FM on the phone and Joey Ampeso, a consular officer assigned in New Orleans and an Upsilonian, was asked to assist Ninoy, which he did.


During that New York meeting, Ninoy also told me that he went to see his doctor and his medical exam might require him to rest for six months because of some heart complication. In July that year, Ninoy was told by the State Department that FM was sick and that "if I don't go home, I will not be president."

In early August, FM and Ninoy talked about the latter returning to the Philippines and FM told him not to come home yet because he (FM) was weak and he couldn't protect Ninoy.  

On August 17, there was an earthquake in Laoag, Ilocos Norte, so I had to be there as acting governor. I sent two planes to meet Ninoy in Taipei but the first plane, which carried a top officer, could not locate him because he was using a passport with a different name. FM's instructions were to bring Ninoy to Basa Air Base, load him in the presidential helicopter and bring him here to Manila, to protect him.

On August 20, I left Laoag at 10 in the evening so I could be in Manila in time to meet Ninoy at the airport. I didn't think much of it then, but my plane was grounded (by someone who knew the chain of command) and the second plane was prevented from taking off When I was driving to the international airport, my car was delayed because of a rally of another Upsilonian, Doy Laurel, in front of Baclaran Church. I arrived at the airport 12 minutes after Ninoy was shot. Someone met me and said "wala na si Ninoy (Ninoy is gone)." I cried like a baby when I found out what happened. If I arrived on time I could have escorted Ninoy from the aircraft and he would not have been shot, or I would have been shot along with him on the stairs.  


Nemenzo, Gemma "A Different Take: An Interview with Rep. Roquito Ablan". Filipinas. FindArticles.com. 23 Feb, 2011. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7537/is_200808/ai_n32289968/  

“The Rise of the Masses, The Fall of the Elites”

Since I have been blogging about music, food, love for the past few days... Now, I thought of blogging about my first love which is Politics... Philippine politics per se as the focal point... anyway, for this blog I would like to discuss about Marx ideology on the role of masses and elites in a certain nation. I remember writing about this when I was still in College. So here it is:


The ouster of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos and Joseph Ejercito Estrada by people power or known as Edsa I & II are manifestations on the idea that a class struggle will be successful mainly because elite capitalism has become far too unstable due to the increasingly powerful masses. It is evident, that Filipino masses increase in their numbers due to a creation of industry which led smaller businesses and low wage workers joining each other in equality and without difference. What made them more powerful is the fact that these people are aided by newfound industrial and political education, the increasingly stronger working class forms the majority of the population that is necessary for a successful political movement. Here in the country, the rise of the masses is seen through out the years, most especially seen and felt during the Marcos regime. Along with this, the fall of the elites and the consequent win of the masses is inevitable. During the 1998 elections, Joseph Estrada ran for the Presidency of the Philippines and he won landslide even if he was against a powerful foe named Jose de Venecia who has a machinery throughout the archipelago. What made Erap win? It is because of his tagline which is “Erap para sa Mahirap”. He portrayed himself as being one with the masses; he depicted an image that is marketable to the masses. The masses believed it, they supported and voted for him because they thought that Erap was the savior and the protector of the mass interests. Months after he took seat from office, different issues lambasted his administration. Issues such as graft and corruption, abuse of power or any typical elitist concern. The Philippine economy was in shambles, it was unstable and worst of all stagnant. The majority of the populace was starving and hungry, they were oppressed by the situation, they were suffering. The so-called “savior and protector” of the masses left them and turn his back from the masses. With this scenario, people were clinging for change, asking for a transformation and most of all crying for a revolution! The revolution happened again in the historic Edsa Shrine. The people mostly the masses gathered in huge groups, showed their force and power, brought their moorings in the street and toppled the Estrada Administration! The problem is now solved for a short time because the masses did not foresee that the new leader that they have chosen is somewhat the same or even worst than that of Estrada. Because of their clamor for change, it somehow blinded them that Gloria Arroyo is another Erap Estrada. What Arroyo did during this time is to get the trust of the people, and she did at first. She depicted herself as the hope that the masses have been looking and waiting for. She made everyone believe that she is the change that the revolution yielded. During those times we were standing at the exact same point like where we were in the Estrada Administration. So the question is, what will the masses do? Are they ready for another social and political revolution? Or are they tired and old of it? As we can see, our history is based on what the middle class and the masses does or do. Like for example, during the Spanish-Filipino war the masses in the leadership of Andres Bonifacio fought for their freedom and liberty. They were successful and then came a new society in the arms of the Americans. Another example is what happened during the Edsa 1 revolution when the masses demonstrated their force and power in the streets that led to the downfall of a very powerful dictator. With these examples including the demise of Erap’s administration, we can see that the course of history is changed and influenced with what the middle class and the masses execute. Our history is in accordance to what these people decide to do. They are the majority, they have the capability, they are the real authors of our history. They have power over the elites but the problem is that, they don’t know how to use it, they don’t know when and some don’t know that they have what it takes to overthrow or overpower those elites that made them suffered and abused their rights for freedom, democracy and a life that is liberated from any prejudices. Now, we have a new President... New Administration... A President from a Powerful Political ELITE family... What will the Masses do? Whats next for them? Lets soon find out...