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The
Catholic Bishops’ Congress of the Philippines (CBCP) was
recently quoted in BusinessMirror’s headline as saying,
“Our leaders are morally bankrupt.”
Based on
that declaration, I call on each and every Filipino to
join hands in a formal declaration of war. Our country
is not at peacetime. We are at war. On multiple fronts.
It has been a protracted war, and it appears it can be
an endless war. And we can only win this war if we: 1)
accept the reality that we are engaged in a war; 2)
raise a call to arms among our 88 million soldiers; and
3) close ranks and commit ourselves to win this war once
and for all.
I refer
to the massive and protracted war against the vicious
cycle of wrenching poverty and destitution; against
graft and corruption; against sickness and infant
mortality; against bad schools and bad books; against
illiteracy and ignorance; against unemployment and
underemployment; against labor exploitation and low
worker productivity; against selfish gratification and
ostentatious display of wealth.
The war
against income inequality and undue concentration of
wealth; against alcoholism and illegal gambling; against
criminality and civil offenses; against pride and
hubris; against avarice; against colonial mentality and
crab mentality; against politics and patronage.
The war
against nominal Christianity and religious intolerance
vs. our Muslim brothers; against all physical violence
and armed conflict—criminality and anarchy,
extrajudicial killings and communist insurgency,
terrorist attacks and abuses by the military and the
police.
The war
against indecency and immorality; against marital
infidelity and broken families; against lust and
licentiousness; against apathy and indifference; against
negativism and pessimism.
The war
against treachery and hypocrisy; against “bahala na”
fatalism, “pwede na” mediocrity and “pasensiya
na” excuses; against political feuds and
bureaucratic red tape in government; against a culture
of privilege and excuses in big business, and against a
lack of global competitiveness and inertia to change to
improve oneself in an increasingly competitive global
market; against global warming and environment
degradation; and even the war that has divided Couples
for Christ.
Our
country remains deeply divided—not only by the seas—but
by a culture of regionalism imbibed over more than 400
years of Western colonization. Yet, our history also
shows how Filipino heroes have galvanized as one nation
indivisible in times of adversity to put up a valiant
fight against common enemies, such as the revolt of the
first eight provinces against Spain, and the whole
country against Japanese occupation; the war against the
tyranny of a despot and the immorality of a drunkard.
This is
the basis for my “call to arms” and to all Filipino
“workers of the world to unite” against common enemies
so we can declare true freedom from the oppressions we
have been suffering for so long.
To
dramatize this declaration of war and remind ourselves
of the need to remain vigilant against the enemies at
all times—at home and abroad, at work and at home, I
propose a move as radical as that historic act of the
late Andres Bonifacio, founder of the Katipunan, in
leading the Filipino revolutionaries to tear up the
Spanish cedula in the Cry of Pugad Lawin—an act most
Filipinos perhaps have never experienced.
Let us
invert the flag of the Philippines to display the red
band on top of the blue, which is the practice in times
of war. Our nation may not be at war in the traditional
definition of armed conflict, but it can be argued that
we are engaged in a war no less daunting or real because
the outcome of this war will dictate whether we can win
the true freedom we cherish from all human oppression on
earth—material and spiritual.
I
recommend that each province, city, town, municipality
and barangay must keep the red band of the Philippine
flag on top until we achieve our common mission of
defeating all forces oppressing the Filipino people.
Then, and only then, can we achieve real victory for
prosperity and peace. Then, and only then, can we truly
say we deserve to fly the Philippine flag with the blue
on top of the red.
There is
no doubt in my mind, my heart and my soul that this is a
war we can win, because we are destined to win this
war—if we fight together—in the name of God and
Country—to strive and build a “nation run like heaven by
Filipinos.”
For comments and suggestions send e-mail at willyarcilla@yahoo.com.
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