‘This business of bowing to a foreign soldier was very irritating and many Filipinos tried not to do it.’
OUR heroines. Letizia Roxas Constantino: These are the three principal characteristics of a people’s history: (1) “projects the role of the people and judges men and events in terms of the interests of the masses” (2) “takes a definite stand that colonialism is wrong, that no country has the right to conquer and subjugate another” (3) evaluates “economic developments in terms of the people’s livelihood” and examines as a matter of course the essential links of economics, politics and culture. [SM3: “History from the Point of View of the Filipino People”]
1. “During the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines, pro-Japanese Filipino spies like the Makapili (Makabayang Kalipunan ng mga Pilipino) were commonly referred to as fifth columns.” [SM23: “The Wonderful World of Words”]
2. Common encounters with the Japanese during the enemy occupation of the Philippines.
“In the streets, we passed by the posts of Japanese sentries and we had to bow to them.
Bowing was something that Filipinos did not do, except to our elders when we kissed their hands. This business of bowing to a foreign soldier was very irritating and many Filipinos tried not to do it. We avoided the enemy troops and took the pathways where there were no Japanese sentries. We could not avoid them, however, when we went to church and we tried not to make any fuss about it.” [Interview (Conversation) with Letizia Roxas-Constantino, Quezon City, July 16, 2005, Saturday, 3.30-5.30 P.M.]
3. “We must use our rights in peace and freedom, but with militancy, otherwise, we shall deserve to lose them.” [“Peace and Freedom,” 30 August 1986]
Our heroines. Ka Oryang, aka Mrs. Andres Bonifacio: “Some of my important experiences during the Revolution are as follows: I had no fear of facing danger, not even death itself, whenever I accompanied the soldiers in the battle, impelled as I was then by no other desire than to see unfurled the flag of an independent Philippines, and I was present in and witnessed many encounters. I was considered a soldier, and to be true, I learned how to ride, shoot a rifle, and manipulate other weapons which I actually used on the ground without tasting food for the whole day, to drink dirty water from mud holes or the sap of vines which, though bitter, tasted delicious because of my intense thirst. When I came to think of my life in those days, considering my youth then, I am surprised how I stood it all, and how I was spared.” [Autobiography of Gregoria de Jesus. Translated and Annotated by Leandro H. Fernandez]
“At the request of Mr. Jose P. Santos to whom this account of my life is dedicated, I conclude by giving our youths of whom he is one, the following counsel or advice in the form of decalogue: 1. Respect and love your parents because they are next to God on earth. 2. Remember always the sacred teachings of our heroes who sacrificed their lives for the love of country. 5. Remember that goodness is wealth. 6. Respect your teachers who help you to see and understand, for you owe them your education as you owe your parents your life. 7. Protect the weak from danger. 8. Fear history, for it respects no secrets.” [Gregoria de Jesus. Caloocan, Rizal. 05 November 1928]
Our heroines. Carmen Guerrero Nakpil: “Better than a Chinese restaurant is the kitchen of a kababayan. When in a foreign city, a Pinoy searches every busy sidewalk, theater, restaurant for the well-remembered golden features of a fellow Pinoy. But make no mistake. It is only because he is in desperate need of Filipino meal and, like a homing pigeon, he follows his nose to a Filipino kitchen well stocked with bagoong, patis, garlic, balat ng lumpia, gabi leaves and misua. When the Pinoy finally finds such a treasure-house, he will have every meal with his kababayan. Forgotten are the bistros and the smart restaurants. The back of his hand to the Four Seasons and the Tour d’ Argent. Ah, the regular orgies of cooking and eating the ensue. He may never have known his host before.
In Manila, if he saw him again, they would hardly exchange two words. But here in this odd, barbarian land where people eat inedible things and have never heard of patis, they are brothers forever. The Filipino may denationalize himself but not his stomach.” [Where’s The Patis?]
1. “Intoxication – whether by grace of tuba, champagne or merely the awareness of the occasion – an extravagance of conduct, speech, food and adornment, are important, but even more so is the change of emotional gear. Somehow only the very simple and the very sophisticated among us are capable of undergoing the personality change necessary to make a party a success. This probably explains why costume parties are popular among them. The moriones and the santacruzan no less than the exclusive masques reflect the desire to turn into someone else if only for one evening. The extremes of artlessness and artificiality are needed to bring off this necessary change of dimension from the work-a-day world to the fiesta.” [“A Cathartic View,” Consensus of One column, 22 May 1966]
2. “The paradox of water in Manila consists not only in the lack of potable water in a city of flooded streets and monsoon rains, bringing to mind the schoolchild’s exclamation, ‘Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink!’ but also in the fact that Manila and Manileños are the product of a water culture, the first being a seaport and the second, a race of seafarers and river people, pressed by nature into traveling and living on the water, subsisting on its wealth, deriving indeed most of their historical and economic relevance from water, inordinately fond of bathing and gamboling and holding festivals on the water.” [“Facing It,” 18 June 1967]
Our heroines. Josefa Llanes Escoda: “I have done my duty to my country and God. To my mind, the most I have done was help with the little I could do to save the lives of the surrendered soldiers of Bataan and Corregidor. I have offered myself as guarantor for men later released by the enemy — men who saw bitter fighting and who, if they had any guts left, would continue their resistance. I have acted as a guarantor not only for the sake of humanity but also to encourage them to fight again. If you happen to survive, and I fall, tell our people that the women of the Philippines did their part also in making the ember sparks of truth and liberty alive till the last moment.” [Jose L. Llanes, “I Saw a Nation in Travail”]
Maria Rosa Luna Henson: “I spoke in radio stations and was invited to testify in the Senate about my experiences. Capulong accompanied me as my lawyer. On September 25, 1992, I joined other members of the Task Force on Filipino Comfort Women in a march to Mendiola Bridge demanding justice for comfort women. I also marched in front of the Japanese embassy, and submitted a letter to then Prime Minister Keichi Miyazawa, asking him to pay heed to the plight of Filipino comfort women.” [Comfort Woman: Slave of Destiny. Pasig City: Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, 1996, p. 86]