The two had met in Yokohama in 1899. Ponce was then a pioneering Filipino diplomat tasked to solicit Japanese support as Filipino forces battled an invading American army. Sun, on the other hand, was then a noted intellectual eager to learn about Japan’s transformation from a backward country to a world power.

At a dinner hosted by the renowned former samurai and future Japanese prime minister Tsuyoshi Inukai, Sun was visibly impressed by Ponce’s stories of Filipino exploits against both Spain and the United States. Ponce drove home the point that all Asian peoples have a duty to aid the Filipino cause, and Sun took his message to heart. Taking huge personal risks, Sun arranged for a stealthy shipment of Japanese arms to support the Philippine Republican Army, but the steamship carrying the guns tragically sank off the coast of Shanghai.

Sta. Romana’s reference to this episode was a refreshing reframing of the usual historical narrative that Chinese officials like to emphasize when extolling Philippines-China relations. The Chinese vice foreign minister in the audience said he was touched by the story. Before that, their favorite anecdote had been the visit by a sultan of Sulu to Ming China in the 15th century, which marked a milestone in the long history of Filipino-Chinese cultural exchanges. But while the story of that visit is an important symbol of the filial ties that bind the two peoples, it also harks back to a different international order that existed in Asia in the pre-modern era. At that time, China was the “middle kingdom,” the prime civilization that many Asian cultures sought to emulate. Eager to learn from Sinic ways, many of these cultures acknowledged Chinese pre-eminence. 

But unlike the sultan of Sulu who had to kowtow to the Chinese emperor, it was the Chinese founding father who was eager to learn from the Filipino diplomat when the two met in Japan. The story of their meeting and subsequent collaboration was part of a bigger story of a Chinese re-discovery of the Philippines at the turn of the last century, and how this re-discovery helped spark a nationalist awakening among the Chinese people. 

This story could trace its roots to 1793, when a British diplomat sought to establish trade relations with the Qing dynasty. The latter was shocked by the western envoy’s audacity to treat the Chinese emperor as an equal of the English king. In the Chinese conception, the middle kingdom was preordained to sit atop the universal pecking order, and therefore deserved paeans from all rulers of the world. The British, however, were operating under western norms arising from the outcomes of the Westphalian conferences of 1648, which dictate that all states are equally sovereign. For them, keeping the appearances of treating the Chinese as an equal despite the obvious superiority of British power was already an act of magnanimity. Naturally, the clash between these two worldviews resulted in a humiliating outcome for China. 

It took two Opium Wars in the 1800s for the Chinese to accept that they were no match to western technology and therefore powerless to defend their domestic authority, let alone enforce their worldview. The British, followed by other western powers and then Japan, viciously extracted concessions after concessions from the decaying Qing dynasty. The Chinese had no choice but to acquiesce and to endure what they now refer to as the “century of humiliation.”

Meanwhile, at around the same time, a modest but unprecedented economic transformation was unfolding in the Philippines. International trade had been rapidly globalizing, and Manila had become one of its nodes. This led to the emergence of a local middle class that naturally craved education and empowerment. In 1812, Spain enacted the Cadiz Constitution, which started a wave of liberalization that eventually reached Philippine shores. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 further exposed this new Filipino middle class to liberal ideals. In 1880, Filipino students in Europe, inspired by Enlightenment principles, formed the Propaganda Movement and started articulating the philosophy that would later underpin the Philippine Revolution of 1896.

Unlike their Chinese contemporaries, the Filipino elite fully understood western norms. They knew that while these norms adhered to the Westphalian notion of a community of states operating as sovereign equals, they also required that nations must first prove themselves worthy of membership in the said community. And so, after having forced Spanish forces to a standstill in 1897 and then, following a short interlude, virtually defeating them in 1898, Filipino leaders declared independence and cloaked their movement with the full panoply of western-style statehood. Having already formed a modern army, they drafted a democratic Constitution, formed a parliament and a judicial system, dispatched diplomats, minted coins, and printed stamps. The Philippines was asserting its place in the club of nations. 

Within a year, however, the Americans decided to steal the Philippines from the Filipinos, sparking a protracted war that proved Filipino mettle and inspired many Asian peoples, including the Chinese. It was in the midst of the Philippine-American War that Sun sought out Ponce in Japan and moved mountains to help the Filipino cause. Some historians think that Sun saw in an independent Philippines a possible ally to the Chinese revolution. While this might also be true, his main motivation was likely sentimental. I suspect that he saw the Philippines as he saw Japan: an example of what the Chinese people could achieve if they overcame some of their philosophical shackles.

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One of these is their Confucian conception of power correlation, which is based on the concept of the li. Crudely translated into western philosophy as natural law, the li emphasizes harmony in social relationships between student and teacher, servant and master, emperor and subject – and basically strong and weak. It is a profound concept that cannot be oversimplified, but one of its basic premises is the idea that power disparities are somehow metaphysically preordained. 

On one hand, this premise informed the Chinese conception of a hierarchical world order with China at the center. Since the Chinese had never met a culture more advanced than theirs, they proudly imagined an international system revolving around China as the beacon of civilization, with other cultures finding their place along concentric orbits according to their proximity to Sinic ways. On the other hand, the same premise petrified the Chinese into inaction in the face of clearly superior western forces that were overturning this Chinese centrality and overrunning their own homeland.

Yet before the eyes of the Chinese elite, the Filipinos shattered this premise. By standing up against Spain and then the United States, the Philippines upended the logic of the li, prompting some profound self-reflection among China’s thinking class. In her 2002 book Staging the World: Chinese Nationalism at the Turn of the Twentieth Century, American historian Rebecca Karl dedicated an entire chapter to how the Philippines influenced China’s nationalist awakening. She quotes, among others, Cantonese public intellectual Ou Jujia, who wrote:

“They (the Chinese elite) have lost all hope. Their level of thinking stops at a conviction that to be strong is sufficient for taking advantage of the weak; to be big is sufficient for taking advantage of the small; to be numerous is sufficient for torturing the few. They have no knowledge of the fact that strong and weak have no definite form; big and small do not define strength; numbers do not define principle; that self-reliance can turn weak into strong, self-strengthening can turn small into big, and the unity of the people can turn the few into the many.

“Just look at the small islands of the Philippines led by native people opposing the preeminent rising power of the world, America…. So, what of our China, with its vast territory and huge population, which is thousands of times bigger than the Philippines? If the Philippines can be self-reliant, what is the logic behind the claim that China cannot be? Please, let us now consider the Philippines.”

As Karl noted, Ou’s writings reflected the emerging sentiments then of the Chinese intelligentsia, which effectively challenged the validity of such “seemingly immutable categories” as “civilization,” “strong,” “weak,” “big,” and “small” – concepts that formed a central part in classical Chinese philosophy. The Philippines, after all, had been on the fringes of the Sinocentric world order, barely a bearer of Sinic civilization. Yet here it was now, providing a model for a weakened China to confront an ascendant west. 

The future jurist Liang Qichao, who at that time was among China’s most famous public intellectuals, drove home this point by publicly professing that he “must kowtow” to “the Filipino,” for “he has twice waged war against the white man, and never faltered despite difficult odds.” Finally, the Chinese were beginning to shed their middle kingdom pretentions.

Alas, the First Philippine Republic eventually lost to overwhelming American power. As Filipino defeat became imminent, the leadership diverted some of the Japanese arms intended for the Philippines to the Xinhai Revolution in China, then already being led by Sun. The Filipinos then shifted to quietly pursuing freedom through the dexterity of their pens and the eloquence of their tongues rather than the might of their guns. But in the mainland, where the Chinese translation of Ponce’s book on the Philippine Revolution began to circulate widely, the philosophical liberation that the Filipino movement helped spark unleashed an unstoppable tide that eventually led to the founding of a new China, of which Sun became the first president.

Like their Filipino counterparts, the early leaders of this new China aligned themselves firmly with the struggles of the subjugated peoples of the world. Communist thinker Zhou Enlai became a stalwart of the Bandung movement that laid the foundation for traditional solidarity among countries of the global south. Today, China has become confident enough to set about fulfilling the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation, and Filipinos can be proud to have played a small part in the rich history behind this remarkable Chinese transformation. – Rappler.com

JJ Domingo is a career foreign service officer. He was posted in Beijing from 2017 to 2020. The views expressed here are his own and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

When we hear the word “environment,” our mind immediately goes to nature itself, and rightfully so. Yet at its most basic definition, the “environment” refers to anything that surrounds us. Through this angle, we can say that caring for our environment inherently involves caring for other human beings, including their substantive and procedural rights.

The environmental rights agenda has seen significant progress globally in recent years. The UN recognized the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment as a human right, while the Commission on Human Rights issued a landmark report that states fossil fuel companies can be held liable for human rights violations caused by their pollutive activities.

Despite this progress, environmental rights continue to be threatened in the Philippines. For example, the country remains one of the most dangerous in the world to environmental defenders. With crises like climate change and plastic pollution projected to worsen, millions of Filipinos could be hindered in exercising their rights.

These trends are also seen in many of the Philippines’s neighbors within the ASEAN, collectively among the most vulnerable regions to several ecological issues. As a result, a new regional framework is needed for protecting and upholding environmental rights of millions of its residents.

It is with this context that the ASEAN Environmental Rights Framework (ERF) is being developed.

What should be included

The ERF must contain strong measures for protecting the rights and well-being of environmental defenders and frontline communities. These should include the rights to life, freedom of speech and expression, peaceful assembly, and participation in environmental decision-making processes. ASEAN has to create a framework that guarantees a safe and secure environment for these stakeholders to exercise their rights, given that they are also likely among the most vulnerable to natural and man-made threats. 

Among the stakeholders that needs to be specifically focused on are the indigenous peoples (IPs) within the region. Despite their role in protecting ecosystems and biodiversity and the well-documented threats they have faced in previous decades, no specific clause on IP rights was included in the current ASEAN Human Rights Declaration. 

Within the resulting framework must be clear statements that the IP’s substantive rights, especially those that pertain to basic necessities, livelihoods, and protecting ecosystems, are protected and upheld through mechanisms at the national and regional levels. They must also be directly included and enabled to actively participate in decision-making processes that directly impact the well-being of their communities and the environments on which they depend.  

Furthermore, the ERF must remove barriers that prevent individuals and communities from access to environmental justice, such as expensive legal procedures and bureaucratic inefficiencies that delay decisions. ASEAN member-states should enforce strategies and improve existing policies to ensure their access to legal and administrative measures applicable for matters on environmental rights. Mechanisms should include providing free legal and technical assistance to complainants and use of native languages in addressing cases and disputes.

Enhancing inclusive public participation in environmental decision-making should be required for ASEAN and its member-states. We are all stakeholders to numerous environmental challenges facing us, which means all citizens have the right to be represented or actively engage in decision-making. Mechanisms must be established to ensure the entire process at any level of governance would be culturally-appropriate, locally-relevant, and gender-sensitive.

The ERF must emphasize the protection of human rights of those that would be affected by the inevitable just transition towards more sustainable models. A transformation of economies and societies throughout the ASEAN must guarantee that workers and communities either dependent on systems to be phased down or phased out (i.e. fossil fuels) or affected by more ecologically-sound infrastructures to be built as part of the transition (i.e. renewable energy) would not be left behind.

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The resulting framework should also improve on existing strategies for communicating information related to environmental rights. It should guarantee that data will be generated, collected, and disseminated in a comprehensible and timely manner to different sectors. Key information such as ways to access legal and judicial instruments, file cases, respond to complaints, and participate in decision-making processes must be communicated, especially to the most vulnerable peoples (i.e., women, youth, IPs, persons with disabilities).    

Another key provision within the ERF must be denouncing, prohibiting, and punishing environmental denialism and disinformation. Failure to respond to this growing alarming trend within the ASEAN effectively limits the ability of many communities to exercise their environmental rights, as they would be accessing false information. ASEAN member-states should enact new laws and policies to avoid such scenarios and help reduce the risks that millions of citizens would face.

It should be emphasized that developing the ERF is an entirely different matter from effectively implementing it. Yet there is no question that establishing this framework is not an option, but a necessity for the ASEAN to address the environmental crises that face it and are still to come. – Rappler.com

John Leo Algo is the Deputy Executive Director for Programs and Campaigns of Living Laudato Si’ Philippines and a member of Aksyon Klima Pilipinas and the Youth Advisory Group for Environmental and Climate Justice under the UNDP in Asia and the Pacific. He is a climate and environment journalist since 2016.

Manila is a city that is constantly going up in flames. It was one of the most thoroughly destroyed cities by the end of World War II. One of the many buildings that was damaged during the Battle of Manila was this very same one, which was designed by legendary architects Juan M. Arellano and Tomás Mapúa. 

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Manila’s destruction during the war was intentionally caused by American forces, an ally. It was a case of the former American colonial occupier — who “won” the city like loot in a poker game from the previous Spanish imperial occupiers — destroying innocent lives and irreplaceable architecture to release the city from the Japanese occupiers’ iron grip, and who also had their own flavor of arson. Before all of that, during the Kingdom of Tondo, the Spaniards, led by Martín de Goiti, set fire to the Bayan ng Maynila, which also occurred in the month of May. Filipinos are always getting caught in the middle of foreign meddlers and exploiters. 

However, that’s History with a capital “H,” and I can’t relate to any of that on a personal level. In this incident and in many other major fires since the mid-20^th century, we can’t blame foreign occupiers or war. We can only blame our own collective shortcomings when it comes to fire hazard preventions. 

Then there’s the lack of building codes and the enforcement or updating of any existing regulations. If you want to go down a rabbit hole, just look up the countless studies showing Metro Manila’s poor urban planning, which is fueled by a constantly ballooning overpopulation in tandem with cash cow opportunities, when real estate developers create more buildings with sub-standard materials. On top of that, there’s simply the general mishandling of historic sites. 

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Having said all that, let’s go back down to the street level. My own personal history with the MCPO isn’t substantial or direct. I’ve never even been there in person. My connection to that now-charred building — that is still somehow architecturally regal — is the fact that I used to write letters to a woman I loved in Quezon City, which has its own central post office. Nonetheless, I’m sure our letters had to go through the Manila Central hub at some point. In any case, the Manila office is the headquarters and the “brain” of the country’s postal operations. 

I look at the photos of the flames puffing black smoke signals into the vast Manila sky like a distress call to the heavens, and I’m reminded that this resilient city has seen this same scene many times before. So much so that Manila should buy the name “Phoenix” from Arizona. 

All those letters of longing, those words immortalized in ink, those sentiments from loved ones and friends throughout the decades have passed through the post offices of Metro Manila. I remember when my parents used to receive letters in the US from family back home. The red, white, and blue stripes on the edges of the envelopes were an icon of my youth. 

Kumusta na kayo diyan sa New York?

May sakit si Nanay.

Marunong pa ba mag Tagalog si Michael?

Sana makauwi kayo ngayong Pasko.

Throughout the decades, before messenger apps, Filipinos sent and received letters to and from each other, reinforcing the threads that tethered our global diaspora back to the homeland. 

Most times, letters contained joyous announcements like a new addition to the family, an upcoming wedding, a birthday greeting, or a Christmas gift. Sometimes, they carried bad news like a dark cloud looming over the horizon telling sailors that a storm is brewing. 

Then there were those other times when two 20-somethings exchanged letters across the Pacific, slicing the hemispheres with paper cuts. Those thin pieces of paper were folded with precision and thoughtfulness like origami. Within them contained secrets that had never been shared with anyone else before or after, promises that had been kept and broken since then, and anxieties over an uncertain future, which both writers had dreamed of being beautiful, regardless of what it contained. 

The Manila Central Post Office will shed its old, burnt skin and become new again, just like all the other buildings that have suffered the same fate many times before, just like those letters that have turned into ash. There will be new words to be written, read, and kept close to the heart. – Rappler.com

Michael Raqim Mira is a writer, photographer, and videomaker based in Texas with roots in Quezon Province. His editorial work has appeared in various local publications in the United States and the Philippines. You can find his projects at www.michaelrmira.com.

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Kapuwa si Miss Makati (Michelle Dee) at Miss Bohol (Pauline Amelinckx) ay pinupuntong hindi lang ang likas yaman ang maihahain ng bansa, kundi ang mga Pilipino per se, dala ang kanilang kaaya-ayang katangian at pagpapahalaga. Mas naging espesipiko lamang ang huli sa pagbanggit ng “Filipino warmth,” na kung susumahin ay kaugnay pa rin ng isa sa mga values na ipinagmamalaki natin – ang “pakikisama” o smooth relations. 

Pareho namang makatuwiran ang kasagutan, pero kung titingnan sa ibang larang, yaong ipinagmamalaki ba nating Filipino values ay maituturing pa ring biyaya, o sumpa sa kasalukuyan? 

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Tandaang naging paksa ng usap-usapan ang Filipino values sa bansa noong mga taon ng 1960. Ito ay dahil sa mga sumusunod na dahilan:

• Cultural Identity. Minarkahan ng panahong ito ang paggising at paghahanap ng sariling pagkakakilanlan ng mga Pilipino. Marami ang nagtatanong, sino ba talaga tayo? Paano natin ipo-promote yaong mga tinataglay o sariling atin? 

• Post-Colonial Era. Tapos na ang kolonisasyon ng Espanya at Estados Unidos. Nasa yugto na ng pagbawi sa kalayaan at mas pinaigting ang paglalagay sa pedestal ng own cultural values na malayong-malayo sa imposed na isipang kolonyal. 

• National Development. Panahon ito ng pagtatayo ng nasyonal at economic development sa bansa. Naniniwala ang marami na hindi lang kaalamang ekonomiko ang makatutulong para magkaroon ng progreso bagkus ay pati na ang matibay na pundasyon ng pinagsasaluhang pagpapahalaga. 

• Social Issues and Moral Decay. Dumagsa ang iba’t ibang isyung panlipunan kagaya ng kahirapan, kurapsiyon, at pagbaba ng morals. Naniniwala noon ang marami na masusolusyunan lamang ito kung mas pagtitibayin ang Filipino values, partikular na yaong may kaugnayan sa integridad, disiplina, at social responsibility. 

• Educational Reform. Nagkaroon ng pagsisikap na itahi sa kurikulum ang Filipino values at kinilala ito bilang mahalagang elemento sa paghubog sa karakter ng mga kabataan. 

Sa dami ng readings ko hinggil sa paksang ito, talagang tumatak ang sinulat ni Allen L. Tan na pinamagatang “Values Research in the Philippines” – luma na ang artikulo pero mahalaga pa ring mabasa ng mga Pinoy. 

Iba’t iba ang pangangatuwirang inilahad ng mga local at international scholars sa papel na ito. Pero dadalawa lang ang tema: magiging positibo o negatibo ang Filipino values depende sa epekto nito sa larangan ng ekonomiya. Naging unfair para sa atin ang naging interpretasyon ng kung sino ang maunlad, sapagkat karamihan ng mga political at economic analyst noon ay galing sa West, so lahat ng pamantayan ng maunlad at mahirap ay nakagiya sa kanila, dahilan upang ang maging pananaw sa Filipino values ay negatibo. 

Halimbawa dito ay ang nosyon ng “Achieving Society” ni McLelland. Ipinaliwanag niya na para magkaroon ng economic progress, dapat na turuan ang mga bata na maging “mapagsarili” (independent) at “may tiwala sa sarili” (self-reliant). Samantala, isa sa mga kaugaliang hanggang ngayo’y mamamalas sa mga Pilipino ay ang pagiging malapít ng mga miyembro ng pamilya o close family ties. Patunay ang maraming extended families at mas nabibigyang-pansin ang kaugaliang pakikisama (smooth relations) at konseptong bahala na (no control or no self-efficacy) na hadlang sa ideyang tinuturan ng iskolar. 

Pero ang kapansanan para kay McLelland ay tinalakay ni Lagmay, isang Pilipinong iskolar, bilang kapaki-pakinabang na mga katangian. Ang pakikisama ay maaaring tumungo sa pakikipagkapuwa-tao na mahalaga para sa pagtatayo ng nasyon. Ang bahala na ay iniugnay sa determinasyon. Mamamalas na tiningnan ni Lagmay ang mga katangiang ito sa positibong anggulo.

Ibinahagi naman ng Sikolohiyang Pilipino na kung may dapat ‘mang sisihin sa mga pagpapahalagang tinataglay natin, ito ay ang kaisipang kolonyal na iniwan ng mga dayuhan. Mahihinuha sa kanilang mga katuwiran na maaaring may problema nga sa mga pagpapahalagang ito, pero ang sisi’y sa kolonyalismo dahil sila ang nag-iwan ng pamantayan ng kung ano ang maganda at kanais-nais, na naging dahilan upang tingnan itong kahinaan at kapansanan ng mga Pilipino. 

Iba’t ibang kadahilanan ang pinaghugutan, pero masasabing ito ay yugto ng repleksiyon at introspeksiyon na siya namang inaani ng mga Pilipino sa kontemporaryong panahon. 

Sa mga mambabasa, suriin ang dalawang sitwasyong ito.

Parehong ipinapamalas sa itaas ang kaugaliang pakikisama (smooth relations), na sa magkaibang konteksto pwedeng maging positibo o negatibo. Hindi pwedeng magkaroon ng konklusyon na hadlang ito sa pag-unlad ng ekonomiya, pero sa kabilang banda, isa ring kalokohan kung ituring itong espesyal na kalidad. Ang dapat nating alamin ay anong senaryo ang kadalasang nagaganap sa lipunan natin na nagbubunsod para maging positibo o negatibo ang pagpapahalagang ito. 

Ikumpara natin ang bansang Japan.

Ayon sa country studies ng Japan, ang tatlo sa pinakamahahalagang katangian para sa mga Hapones ay ang pagkakaisa (harmony), kaayusan (order), at pagpapaunlad ng sarili (self-development). Idinagdag pa na hangga’t maaari iniiwasan nila ang kompetisyon at komprontasyon. Ang mga katangiang ito ay itinuturo sa mga bata sa murang edad, na dapat makilala nila na bahagi sila ng nagtutulungang lipunan, at ito’y nagsisimula sa pamilya, lumalawig sa papalaking grupo kagaya ng kapitbahayan, paaralan, komunidad, at lugar ng trabaho. Ang terminolohiyang Wa ay nosyon ng pagkakaisa sa isang grupo, na nangangailangan ng kooperasyon at pagkilala sa kani-kaniyang papel na ginagampanan. Malinaw sa ulat na malaki ang pagpapahalaga ng mga Hapones sa pakikisama (human relations), pero ang kaibahan lang, nagawa nilang positibo ang katangiang ito para makilala silang superyor sa larangan ng ekonomiya. 

Kung pwede pa lang maging advantage ang pagpapahalagang tinalakay sa itaas, bakit nananatili pa ring huli ang Pilipinas sa global na pamantayan ng ekonomiya? Hindi ako makapagbibigay ng kumpletong sagot pero may ibabangon akong isang punto.

Maaaring hindi Filipino values ang problema, bagkus ay ang sistemang ginagamit natin. Kung nais nating pandayin ang katangiang inaangkin at itinuturing na natural sa atin, bakit ginigipit tayong kumilos ng taliwas dito? Isang halimbawa ay ang sistema sa edukasyon. Kung nais nating iwasan ang kompetisyon at mas pahalagahan ang kapuwa, bakit masyadong espesipiko ang paggagrado? Bakit mas binibigyang-pansin ang rankings at Latin honors imbes na ang pagkatuto? Bakit ang framework, perspectives, maging ang paradigma na ginagamit ng iba’t ibang institusyon, ay halaw sa kanluran? 

Kaya ang Filipino values ay hindi inherently good or bad; nagiging biyaya siya o sumpa depende sa paglalapat sa lipunan. Hindi dapat ito manatiling isang pananaw o teorya; dapat ay matukoy ang panlabas na aspektong nakaaapekto kung bakit nag-iiba ang epekto nito sa iba’t ibang sitwasyon. Hamon ito sa mga kagaya naming nagpapakadalubhasa sa sosyo-kultural na aspekto ng Pilipinas. Sana sa darating na panahon, makahanap tayo ng mas malinaw na sagot. 

Kaya sa susunod na ipagmalaki natin ang tinataglay natin, huwag nating ipamukha na ang Filipino values ay isang commodity na ini-ooffer natin sa mga nasa labas ng bansa, bagkus, sikaping gamitin ito para magsilbing pundasyon para umunlad tayo. – Rappler.com

Vincent C. Conde is a senior high school teacher at Luis Palad Integrated High School. He took his Bachelor’s Degree (BSED-Filipino) at Southern Luzon State University (cum laude) and is currently a graduate student at the University of the Philippines-Diliman. His degree path is in Philippine Studies-Socio-cultural Studies, where he focuses primarily on social structures, media, ideology in education, gender, and sex. 

The good side

Three decades since the discovery of a large gas reserve along the northwestern part of Palawan, Malampaya has proven itself to be an invaluable asset to the country. Not only did it provide two-tenths of the energy requirements of the country, it also brought economic gains to the country, thanks to at least $13 billion in revenue that it has generated from the sales of natural gas since 2001. It also gave Filipino professionals a platform where they could display what Filipino brilliance is, with a 100% Filipino crew on the Malampaya platform. But apart from these, the Malampaya project is also responsible for some of these commendable programs: 

• Coordinating with the local communities in Mindoro, Batangas, and Palawan to advance marine biodiversity conservation efforts in their respective areas;
• Supporting the students living in the areas of Mindoro, Batangas, and Palawan through generous scholarship programs;
• Enabling out-of-school youths and unemployed adults with industry skills to help them get employed; and 
• Financing health programs in different communities to combat diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS.

With the extension of SC 38, it can be expected that these programs will continue. Indeed, Malampaya is an invaluable asset to our country, a source of Filipino pride. However, not all good things are entirely good. There are irrefutable facts that we need to acknowledge and accept in spite of all the good things brought about by Malampaya. 

The bad side

First, natural gas is still a fossil fuel. Whatever rebranding the industry does to it, it is what it is – a dirty, destructive fossil fuel. The addiction of mankind to these nonrenewable energy resources have led us to the climate crisis that threatens our right to life; our right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. No less than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the premier scientific body on climate change, has categorically stated in its latest report that we will not be able to meet the 1.5℃ target of the Paris Agreement if we will not mitigate our emissions, especially from unabated existing fossil fuel infrastructures. This means that the extension of Malampaya is a gross contribution towards the 1.5℃ overshoot. 

And second, in line with the first point, such extension is not aligned with the country’s nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. It is clear in our initial submission in 2021 that we pledged to “reduce and avoid” the emissions of the country by 75% by 2030, wherein 2.71% of it will result from domestic efforts. How can we hold on to this pledge, when we’ve not only extended a natural gas service contract, but we’ve also started creating our own liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry? How can we keep our promises when we do not do anything about our existing coal infrastructures? Shouldn’t we become more aggressive in building a stronger renewable energy industry in this country? With SC 38 extension in effect, it will be difficult to achieve our national mitigation ambition, even the unconditional part alone. Our emissions will definitely continue rising through the burning of natural gas, in addition to coal and diesel from unabated existing infrastructures. 

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So, what now?

Our country emits only 0.3% of the total greenhouse gas emissions among countries globally. In fact, our emissions have only contributed 0.01℃ to the global mean surface temperature rise in 2021, unlike the United States and China which contributed 0.28℃ and 0.20℃, respectively. Is this enough to justify continuous fossil fuel expansion in the Philippines? Absolutely not. A commitment is still a commitment, to the climate treaties that the Philippines acceded to, and to the Filipinos and their right to a balanced and healthful ecology. 

On a personal note, the decision to extend the service contract of Malampaya is the “lesser evil” compared to promoting the expansion of the (imported) LNG industry in the country. Yes, we do not need another Malampaya, but we also most certainly do not need LNG facilities in this country, nor even nuclear power plants (at least for now). What we really need is more renewable energy infrastructures and stronger promotion of energy efficiency and conservation measures. What we really aim for is to succeed in just energy transition. 

I urge the Department of Energy to exert all efforts to boost the development of every form of renewable energy and implementation of other clean energy mechanisms in our country. I am highly optimistic that there will come a time when the Filipino people won’t be forced to settle with “lesser evil” options anymore but, rather, be served with nothing but the best option. I strongly believe that such aspirations will soon become our collective reality. – Rappler.com

Vince Davidson J. Pacañot is currently a climate policy research fellow and a graduate student studying the environmental sustainability of energy systems.

The proposed Curriculum Guides will necessitate the writing, printing, and publication of a new batch of textbooks, learning modules, and other instructional materials, and I feel that it is a duty incumbent upon me to show the makers and creators of these new curriculum guides the lessons we ought to have learned from the many errors and mistakes of the past, in order to guide them and to persuade them to do it right this time.

It is disturbing to discover that in the new curriculum, five subjects, namely Civics, Arts, Culture, History, and Health are to be combined into one subject called SIKAP, which stands for Sibika, Sining, Kultura, Kasaysayan, and Kagalingang Pangkatawan.

The reason the DepEd wants to come out with the new curriculum is its belief that the old one is cluttered and confused and therefore in dire need of being “declustered” or “unclogged.” Yet, SIKAP, itself already a conglomeration of five subjects, is just one of six subjects in the new curriculum for Grade 1 to 3. From Grade 4 to 10, there are now a total of eleven subjects.

History, and specifically Philippine History, will be lumped together with such minor subjects as Civics, Arts, Culture, and Health and therefore stand in real danger of being diluted to the point of irrelevance and inconsequence. Philippine History will be taught only in Grade 5 and 6. The lessons on the Marcos dictatorship and Martial Law will be taught to sixth graders who are just 10 or 11 years old, and they will never encounter Philippine History ever again when they are in high school!

My position paper is my response to the DepEd’s invitation for the public to participate in the review process. I hope Rappler will help me bring its message to the Bureau of Curriculum Development which is now tasked with the very important and momentous responsibility to come up with a better alternative to the one currently being used in all Philippine schools.

The curriculum is being subjected to change every now and then, mostly driven by the personal whim and caprice of whoever sits as head of the DepEd. Our ruined and damaged system of education proves the utter folly and insanity of this constant and incessant change. Change is worthless and useless if it is not a change for the better.

The biggest mistake, the fatal error, of the proposed new curriculum is its failure to mandate the teaching of Philippine History in high school, when the students are more critical, discerning, and intuitive. Given that this is a fundamental error of the previous curriculum, isn’t it imperative that this should now be rectified and corrected?

Philippine History used to be taught as a distinct and dedicated subject in Grade 7. It was dropped and subsequently replaced by Asian History. The new curriculum now seeks to further reduce and limit the scope and coverage to just teaching the histories of the 11 countries there are in Southeast Asia. (The CG’s repeated use of the acronym TSA for Timog Silangang Asya is laughable. The term SEA for Southeast Asia should be used instead.)

The histories of each of the 11 countries are presented ala smorgasborg, which results in content that is, by and large, “all bones and no flesh.” Why, for instance, should we linger over and dwell upon the goings-on in countries like East Timor, Brunei, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Myanmar when these countries (mostly Buddhist or Muslim) have little or almost no social, cultural, or economic affinity or connection to us Filipinos?

The great civilizations of Asia – China, India, Japan, and Korea – were not discussed at all, as if these countries have had no connection to us or did not affect or influence us in any way whatsoever! Now, graduates of Philippine high schools will never get to know about the long-lasting contributions of China, India, Japan, and Korea to world culture and civilization. Has Timor-Leste “given” anything of import and significance to the ASEAN, Asia, or the world?

The great religions and belief systems of Asia – Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity – were not discussed.

The great wars that happened in Asia in modern times – World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the reign of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, and the spread of communism in Asia – were not tackled.

The international organizations to which the Philippines belongs were not mentioned – the United Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the World Trade Organization, the International Criminal Court, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, United Nations Human Rights Council, etc. Only the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is accorded prominent coverage. What has the ASEAN done to stop the genocide of the Rohingyas in Myanmar? What sterling legacies can we attribute to some of the leaders of these ASEAN nations such as Sukarno and Suharto of Indonesia, Pol Pot of the killing fields of Cambodia, Najib Razak and his profligate wife Rosmah Mansor of Malaysia, and Ferdinand Edralin Marcos, Erap Estrada, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and Rodrigo Roa Duterte, all from the Philippines?

It is imperative that Philippine history be taught intensively and extensively to Filipino high school students. Not doing so is tantamount to whitewashing and covering up the sins of our past political leaders. Not teaching Philippine History is historical distortion and revisionism that is most damnable and so utterly, utterly contemptible.

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In the former, more sensible and reasonable curriculum we used to have, Philippine History was taught in Grade 7, Asian History in Grade 8, World History in Grade 9, and Economics in Grade 10. In the time of Education Secretary Leonor Briones, Philippine History was unceremoniously discarded and arbitrarily replaced by the teaching of Asian History in Grade 7. World History was then taught in Grade 8, Economics in Grade 9, and Contemporary Issues in Grade 10.

The reason that the DepEd gave the public for its decision to overhaul the old curriculum was “because of its overcrowded and congested content, which hampered learners from fully grasping and understanding different concepts.”

Key findings in the DepEd’s own study showed that “only a few teachers reported having adequate time to teach all learning competencies. Less than 20% reported that they had enough time to teach all the required learning competencies in a quarter. In some learning areas, half of the teachers did not have sufficient time to teach even half the number of learning competencies.”                                                        

The proposed 2023 Basic Education Curriculum now aims to reduce the number of desirable learning competencies each quarter in order to give more time for the teachers to teach, by focusing on the big ideas to prevent information overload.

The new Araling Panlipunan Curriculum for Grade 8 lumps together two erstwhile dedicated and independent subjects – Asian History and World History – into one.

Asian History and World History each requires a minimum of one school year of 10 months for all the learning competencies, concepts, ideas, and content to be fully discussed, processed and taught. If the DepEd teachers themselves are saying that in the old curriculum they did not have sufficient time to teach even half the number of learning competencies, how much more difficult would it be for them to now teach integrated Asian History and World History in just 10 months?

Grade 8 high school students will be swamped, laden, and loaded with so much data and information that they will finish the academic year not having retained a single clear and coherent lesson, concept, or idea. What they’ll end up being are Jacks-of-all-Trades but Masters of None! Mastery of subject matter is the proof that you have learned something.

The problem with the DepEd is its habit and propensity to not really and actually do what it loudly and publicly says it will do. The DepEd should stop treating the dead serious business and undertaking that is education as if it were just child’s play or merely something they can toy around with. The Araling Panlipunan Curricula for both Grade 7 and Grade 8 are definitely not a change for the better but rather a regression, two-steps back, and a devolution for the worse. – Rappler.com

Antonio Calipjo Go, 72, is a retired private school administrator who has waged a crusade against error-riddled textbooks in the Philippines for the past 28 years.

In the first two years of Jesuit formation, a novice goes through several organized trials, one of which is the mission exposure. The novice is sent to a Jesuit mission, usually in rural areas, for a month of immersion. He may assist the Jesuit missionaries in their ministries or simply just be with the people in the community. The aim of this is to allow the novice not only to experience the life of a missionary but also of the people in the mission areas.

I was sent to Miarayon, Bukidnon in Mindanao, one of the mission parishes of the Philippine Jesuits in the region. Miarayon sits at 1,500 meters above sea level between Kalatungan and Kitanglad mountain ranges. It’s an Instagram-perfect picture of rolling hills and green fields with cool temperatures that could go down to 8 degrees Celsius. Wow! It is a dream assignment for a Jesuit novice, almost a vacation, and an adventure! In 2006 there was neither stable electricity nor mobile signal in the area. Just fresh air and breathtaking sights of nature!

The residents survive – although almost barely – on farming. With its weather, they are able to grow cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, and carrots. It was in Miarayon that I had my first experience of eating carrot fresh from being pulled out of the ground, no washing, just shaking off the soil. It was only then that I discovered that carrots are sweet when eaten fresh from harvest.

On my first day, Father Dario Saniel, the only Jesuit missionary assigned to Miarayon at that time, served me freshly boiled cauliflower and broccoli for lunch. I enjoyed them so much! Knowing how expensive these vegetables were in the city, I ate a lot as if there was no tomorrow. 

For dinner, it was cauliflower and broccoli sautéed with asparagus. The following day, we had fresh locally brewed coffee, mountain rice, and corned beef with broccoli and cauliflower for breakfast. For lunch, it was broccoli and cauliflower again in an experimented recipe. And if you think we had the same for dinner, you’d be right.

I started noticing the pattern on the third day: we will have broccoli and cauliflower every meal. So I respectfully asked Father Dario about when meat would be served for our meals. He told me that, as missionaries, we are dependent on what people offer during our daily Masses. Since our parishioners were mostly farmers, vegetables were all they could offer.

On the fifth day, my body started craving chicken or pork. It was almost like I was gasping for breath.  I was no longer enjoying the broccoli and cauliflower anymore. I actually started hating them! When I imagined the next remaining three weeks with broccoli and cauliflower for meals, I almost fainted.

Sunday came. One hour before the ten o’clock morning mass, I went to the chapel and knelt before the Lord. I complained to Him. I told the Lord that I was not ready to be a vegetarian just yet. So I begged the Lord that, for this particular mass, somebody would offer chicken.

That moment when I heard myself praying my innermost desire, I heard the clucking of a chicken. It was the most beautiful sound I’ve heard in a week. It was like hearing the angels sing! I made sure I was not just daydreaming; I looked back and saw a live native chicken on the offertory table. I jumped and almost cried with jubilation! God answered my prayer instantly! 

I cut short my prayer and ran to the offertory table to grab the chicken. I asked the congregation who among them offered such a beautiful gift. A young farmer in an old white shirt and tattered jeans raised his hand. I wanted to embrace him at that moment, but I kept my composure and I just told him that I would tie chicken to the table just to make sure it would not escape during the Mass. 

Right after the Mass I brought the chicken to the convent and dressed it. You should have seen the smile on my face while I was cooking. I could swear that it was the best chicken adobo I’ve had in my life!

In our Gospel today, we heard Jesus saying, “Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you.” Yes, you heard it right. Whatever. That means we can be a little more specific with our request. 

Do you remember the story of Jesus and the blind man Bartimaeus? The Lord had to ask Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do for you?” Bartimaeus was a blind beggar who sat at the roadside asking for money from passersby. This was Jesus asking. Wouldn’t Jesus already know that what Bartimaeus truly wanted was not a few coins? He wanted to be able to see. That was what Bartimaeus wanted all his life. Jesus could have just healed him right away. But he did not. Jesus had to ask him. He wanted Bartimaeus to articulate his desires, his prayers. And only when Bartimaeus expressed what he truly wanted was his prayer answered.

Many times we find ourselves coming to God in prayer but not really being able to tell Him what exactly and truly it is that we want. There may be reasons why we could not articulate our prayer intentions. Sometimes problems, sorrow, and grief can overwhelm and conceal what we truly want to ask God. Trauma and pain can also numb us and make us unable to articulate what we want. For others, it could be shame brought about by sin that has estranged them from God that makes them uncomfortable to articulate their desire. For some, it could be just too much intellectualization and focus on the form rather than the content of their prayer.

But God wants us to tell Him what is truly in our mind and hearts – to tell Him how it is that we truly think and feel, without editing.  Don’t be concerned if you’re unable to follow the rules of grammar, or if you’re mixing languages. He just wants us to be honest before Him. In our relationships with family and friends, we are better able to relate with them or better assist them if they openly express to us their thoughts and feelings.

So the next time you pray, be specific. Imagine yourself in a conversation with Jesus and He says, “Tell me, what you really really want.” Go ahead. Tell Him. Do not be shy.  Even if it’s just chicken adobo. 

God knows our deepest prayers even before we tell him, but when you articulate your desire, then it becomes easier for you to recognize God’s answer to your prayers.  And when you realize that your prayer has been granted, then your happiness becomes more concrete and gratitude comes more easily. – Rappler.com

Father Roseller “Ro” Atilano Jr. is a Jesuit priest. He is currently the associate director of Jesuit Communications. He is the author of the book “The Miracle of the Ordinary,” which won the Cardinal Sin Best Book in Homiletics in 2022.

Since the discovery of a hole in the ozone layer in the 1980s, countries have been working together to implement the Montreal Protocol. This global treaty was formed to phase out ozone-destroying substances like chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and avoid harmful effects such as UV radiation that could be damaging to human health, plant growth, and marine ecosystems.

Decades later, the ozone layer is healing slowly but surely. Per the UN report last January, around 99% of the banned chemicals have been phased out. If current trends continue, the ozone layer would recover back to 1980 values by 2040.

This agreement would also contribute to slowing down global warming through an amendment that requires phasing down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). While intended as replacements for CFCs, they were discovered to be greenhouse gases, which cause global warming and climate change.

A successful HFC phasedown would reduce global warming by up to 0.5°C by 2100. This makes the Montreal Protocol critical to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, the global treaty for addressing the climate crisis. 

Since its adoption in 2015, the implementation of the Paris Agreement has been lackluster. Despite clear scientific consensus about limiting warming to 1.5°C and avoiding more extreme weather events and other impacts, GHGs continue to rise and are likely to continue doing so for years to come. 

What lessons can we learn from the Montreal Protocol, hailed as the most successful environmental agreement to date, to improve the implementation of the Paris Agreement?

Not the same 

It is vital to understand the nature of the pollutants being addressed by these two global treaties. While the Montreal Protocol focused on the likes of CFCs and HFCs, successfully implementing the Paris Agreement requires reducing our reliance on fossil fuels like coal and gas, the burning of which emits GHGs that cause the climate crisis.

Ozone-depleting substances were used in refrigerators, air-conditioners, fire extinguishers, and other products. In comparison, fossil fuels are much more embedded in economies worldwide, currently providing 80% of the world’s energy needs. 

Addressing both issues requires decreasing the usage of these substances and finding alternatives. At this point, substitutes to ozone-destroying chemicals are more readily available than those for fossil fuels and energy technologies. As a result, it has been more difficult to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels. 

It should be highlighted that the Montreal Protocol is structured differently from the Paris Agreement. The former focuses on addressing the pollution of ozone-depleting substances, with specific targets and timelines for phasing down and phasing out chemicals. The latter, on the other hand, lacks a clear pathway with a set of commitments for limiting warming to 1.5°C and reducing GHG emissions.

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A key part of the Paris Agreement is allowing countries to self-determine their own pledges, most notably how much GHG emissions they want to reduce. While this is respectful of the fact that nations have different capacities, resources, and responsibilities in the context of the climate crisis, it has also made it difficult for negotiators to agree on a definitive strategy to tackle this issue. 

The slow progress is largely a reflection of how fossil fuels remain deeply integrated into national economies, with the unwillingness of many countries and leaders to transition away from them. The past 27 climate negotiations have also made clear the deep divide between developed and developing countries on many aspects of addressing the climate crisis, from finance to loss and damage.

Yet the same

Nonetheless, ending the era of fossil fuels is necessary for our survival; it is not optional. Yet much like fixing the ozone layer, it is expected that addressing the climate crisis would take decades, given the global scope and the severity of potential impacts. Delaying the implementation of solutions would only cause more harm to both the natural and human environments, as we have all learned in recent years.

Both the Montreal Protocol and the Paris Agreement have provisions that allow for increasing ambition and enhancing targets, based on the most recent scientific findings. The former has been amended multiple times throughout its existence, the latest of which is the phasedown of HFCs. Meanwhile, the latter contains mechanisms for nations to update their national commitments for climate solutions every five years, albeit on a self-determining basis.

If the most recent climate negotiations in Egypt are any indication, the world is a long way off from sufficiently scaling up solutions. Delegates failed to enhance targets and commitments for reducing GHG emissions and providing enough finance to support programs of developing countries like the Philippines, despite strong evidence to support both. 

Yet the success of the Montreal Protocol provides living proof that properly implementing the Paris Agreement is still possible. Aside from a well-defined pathway with clear targets for reducing pollution, it would also take global cooperation, long-term political will, and a shift in the culture of climate governance at the multilateral and national levels to avoid more extreme impacts.

Solving any problem starts with directly recognizing the root cause. World leaders may claim they know the issue of the climate crisis through words, but not many have shown to understand it through actions. 

If there was any time for history to repeat itself, it would be for our world to now replicate the successes of the Montreal Protocol. – Rappler.com

John Leo Algo is the Deputy Executive Director for Programs and Campaigns of Living Laudato Si’ Philippines and a member of Aksyon Klima Pilipinas and the Youth Advisory Group for Environmental and Climate Justice under the UNDP in Asia and the Pacific. He is a climate and environment journalist since 2016.

Are you a worrier?

I am.

I was.

Well, I think I still am to some extent.

In fact, I came from a family of worriers. Oh, we loved to worry about everything. It was a family hobby, I guess. My mom would worry about me not taking my breakfast. My kuya would be anxious about his 17-year-old son being late for home after 15 minutes. My sister would double-check, or triple-check, whether the main house door has been securely locked before going to bed or if the flat iron has been properly unplugged. Oh, if there were some bad news in the family, we were very careful in telling the news to one another, otherwise, one of us would surely pass out. There were even times when I would find myself worried when I was no longer worried. Pathetic, right?

Here’s more: Every time I encountered that story of Jesus visiting the house of Mary and Martha and then Our Lord praising Mary for having chosen the better part of staying at his feet while Martha was busy preparing lunch for them, I felt sad and sorry for Martha. Don’t you?

But after entering the Society of Jesus and undergoing some required formation and counseling sessions, I discovered where my habit of worrying was coming from.

You see I lost my dad from a tragic accident when I was six; my mom had to work in the nearby factory to feed her four children; my older brothers had to stop going to school and needed to work to help the family. As a child, I became insecure. I suffered from low self-esteem. So, I grew up desperately wanting to find security for my loved ones and for myself. In the process, I became an anxious person.

Although much healing has already happened over the years, thanks to the rigorous and thorough Jesuit psycho-spiritual formation, I realized that the root cause of the chronic anxiety of every worrier in this world is the fear of losing the love and affection of the beloved, or, to put it more straightforwardly, losing a loved one.

That is why every anxious person would do everything to make sure that his or her beloved is secure, safe, and happy. Anxious people are hardworking; they do everything in their strength to provide what is best for the persons they love. They have no time to pretend; they don’t even have time for themselves because they know how short life is. That is why they seem to be always in a hurry. Anxious people are also faithful because they already knew what it is to grieve and to lose someone they love. This is why they make sure not to do to someone what has already harmed them. Their love language is service. They are not perfect, in fact they always think that their loving is not enough, but the love of an anxious person is always sincere.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds his disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” He wanted to console his disciples who became anxious after being told about His passion and death on the cross. The disciples were afraid about losing Jesus, their Lord and Master, whom they have fallen in love with. Jesus reminds them not be anxious for He is ever with them no matter what happens.

Anxious people need to be reminded that they are not alone and that they are loved unconditionally. They need to be told that their worth is not based on what they do but on who they truly are – God’s beloved. No amount of mistake or sin can decrease God’s love for them. Just like the advice of Jesus to Martha, they need to hear that it’s okay to rest and not be perfect. It calms them down and makes them feel secure and safe.

I believe we all need to hear these words of Jesus: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” This is because from time to time we find ourselves anxious.

During one of the lowest moments in my life, a good friend shared with me this prayer by Henri Nouwen, one of the great authors on spirituality.:

“Lord, so often, I say to myself, ‘The Lord loves me,’ but very often this truth does not enter into the center of my heart. The fact that I so easily get upset because of a disappointment, so easily angered because of a slight criticism, and so easily depressed because of a slight rejection, shows that Your love does not yet fill me. Why, otherwise, would I be so easily thrown off balance? What can people do to me, when I really know that You love me, care for me, protect me, defend me, guide me, and support me? What does a small or even a great failure mean when I know that You are with me in all sorrows and turmoil? Yet time and again, I have to confess that I have not let Your love descend fully from my mind into my heart, and that I have not let my knowing grow into a real, full knowledge that pervades all of my being.”

The reason why we fail to feel God’s unconditional and unfailing love and become anxious is because we rest our sense of self on something less than God’s love for us. Many times we unconsciously allow our self-worth to be dependent on the things that we or others do: on success, achievements, excellence, social media likes, good public image, and approval of others. Over time, we slowly forget that the Lord loves us, no matter what. That is why we can easily get desolate, frustrated, vulnerable, insecure, defensive, disturbed, and shaken. We need to admit that we have not allowed God’s love be fully interiorized in our whole being so that we can let go of all resistances that hinder us from fully experiencing it.

Whether our anxiety is chronic or not, we all need to hear these words: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” In fact, the phrase “Be not afraid” appears 365 times in the Bible; that gives us one verse for every day of the year. Yes, somebody counted all of them. Yes, it is human to be afraid. But every time we hear God telling us otherwise, His words become an assurance that we are never alone. Then we feel secure, safe, and consoled.

So, are you a worrier?

Well, I am not anymore as anxious as I was. I have improved in this area so much. Thanks to my counselor and spiritual directors for reminding me of these words of Jesus, “Do not let your heart be troubled for I am ever with you.” But from time to time, I still find myself anxious.

We really need to be reminded of this fundamental truth everyday single day: God loves anxious people. – Rappler.com

Father Roseller “Ro” Atilano Jr. is a Jesuit priest. He is currently the associate director of Jesuit Communications. He is the author of the book, The Miracle of the Ordinary, which won the Cardinal Sin Best Book in Homiletics in 2022.

Kaya ang magiging trabaho ng mga guro ay hindi bilang eksperto ng kaalaman kundi mga facilitator na hihikayat sa mga mag-aaral na bumuo ng sariling “construct” at konklusyon sa ating kasaysayan. Kritikal at malikhain, sapagkat hindi ito simpleng pagmememorya ng tao, lugar, at petsa, kagaya ng kinasanayang pag-aaral nito. 

Sa paksang “Pre-colonial Philippines,” itinuturo kung paano nagkaroon ng settlements ang mga sinaunang Pilipino, ang iba’t ibang etnolinggwistikong grupo, at kung paano nakipag-interact sa isa’t isa ang mga kaharian at imperyo (Kingdom of Tondo, Sultante of Sulu at Rajahnate of Butuan), pati na ang mga sinaunang paniniwala gaya ng animismo, tradisyon, kultura, at yaong mga prominenteng pigura ng mga datu at babaylan. Sinusundan ito ng pananakop ng mga Kastila at iba pang bansang nagpapalawak ng kaalaman ng mga mag-aaral sa nosyon ng “kolonyalismo.”

Pero sa bahaging ito pa lang, kitang-kita na ang kakulangan ng pagtalakay sa ilang mahahalagang salik ng ating kasaysayan. Ang pagsisimula ng tao sa Pilipinas gamit ang lente ng antropolohiya at arkeolohiya ay hindi itinuturing na mahalaga. Nawawala rin ang mga pahina sa naganap na ugnayan sa pagitan ng mga karatig-bansa sa Asya at Pilipinas bago pa dumating ang mga mananakop, kaya hindi kataka-takang palaging dinadalumat ang pagkakakilanlan ng mga Pilipino sa kanluranin, samantalang sa aspekto ng wika, kaugalian, at pamumuhay ay pihadong maituturing na kahawig natin ang mga kalapit-bansa. Wala ring pinagsisimulan ng linya hinggil sa maritime history na lohikal lamang na pag-aralan dahil sa heograpikong porma ng bansa. Kakatuwa lang na tila wala sa ating memorya ang koneksiyon sa tubig kahit pa ang mga sinaunang Pilipino ay nakapaglalakbay at nakalilipat sa iba’t ibang isla gamit ang sariling kaalaman sa sistema ng karagatan.  

Dahil din sa linyar at paulit-ulit na paggamit ng tradisyunal na aklat sa pagtuturo ng ating kasaysayan, may ilang bahagi nito na bagama’t maaaring hamunin gamit ang iba pang perspektibo ay nananatiling absolute truth sa mga Pilipino. Partikular dito ay ang demonisasyon ng mga Kastila kumpara sa mga Amerikano. Binibigyang-diin na sa yugtong ito ang mga kaganapan ay purong opresyon, pananamantala, at pagsira sa ating kultura. Pagpataw ng mabigat na buwis, sapilitang pagpapatrabaho, gayundin ang paglimita sa ating kalayaan at karapatan ang tila iilang pinagsaluhang karanasan. Ngunit mga Kastila rin ang nagpakilala sa atin ng makabagong teknolohiya, pananim, at sistema ng gobyerno. Ang encomienda system na bahagyang nagpaunlad sa paraan ng pamumuhay ng pamilyang Pilipino. Gayundin ang mga paaralan na naging dahilan kung bakit nagkaroon ng ilustrado class, mga edukadong naging tagapanguna sa rebolusyon at paghubog ng ating republika. Ilan lamang ito sa mga pakinabang. 

Kabalintunaang kung susuriin ang kasaysayan sa panahon ng mga Amerikano, karamihan ng teksbuk ay idinidiin ang mga positibong bagay. Una ay ang “White Man’s Burden” o ang naratibo hinggil pagtulong nila sa mga uncivilized Filipinos na maging sibilisado, pagtatatag ng pampublikong edukasyon, pagpapakilala ng demokrasya sa bansa, at pagpapaunlad ng ekonomiya sa pamamagitan ng paglulunsad ng mga proyekto gaya ng mga kalye at riles. Tila ba ipinapamalas na sila ang kamay na nag-ahon sa atin sa kahirapan at pagiging ignorante. Bagama’t lahat ng sinundang pahayag ay totoo, kadalasang nagiging iisang mukha ang napag-aaralan anupat mas justified ang nosyon ng “American Supremacy.” Pero kung gagalugarin ang ilang lehitimong tala, sa yugto ng mga Amerikano naganap ang ilan sa kahindik-hindik na ranas ng mga Pilipino, ilan sa mga ito ay ang mga sumusunod:

• Ang retorika ng pagpapanukala ng demokrasya at kalayaan sa bansa ay komokontra sa kanilang naging aksiyon hinggil sa pagpigil ng mga kilusan para sa kalayaan at mga paraang nagpanatili ng mahaba at patuluyang kontrol sa bansa.

•  Nagkaroon din ng malaking pagbabago sa istruktura ng ekonomiya sa bansa anupat mula sa agrarian-based society ay nagtransisyon tayo sa export-oriented economy na nagbunsod para maganap ang bultuhang exploitation ng mga Pilipinong magsasaka at manggagawa

• Pagtatalaga ng mga polisiyang pumapabor sa mga korporasyong Amerikano na nagtulak sa marginalisasyon ng mga negosyanteng Pilipino.

• Ang kahindik-hindik na pag-violate sa karapatang pantao dahil sa malawakang massacres, torture, at sapilitang pagpapatrabaho.

Suyurin man ang mga teksbuk na ginagamit sa paaralan, ang mga talang ito ay kadalasang hindi tinatalakay anupat lubhang nakakaapekto sa pananaw ng mga Pilipino at sa kalagayang nararanasan natin sa ngayon. 

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[OPINION] PH history education: In defense of (and an appeal to) Secretary Briones

Ilan lamang ito sa pagbabagong pwedeng maganap sa pagtuturo ng kasaysayan gamit ang rhizomatic approach. Sa ngayong napakalaki ng isyu ng historical revisionism sa bansa, isaalang-alang na ang pagtuturo ng kasaysayan ay hindi dapat ini-impose ng mga guro kundi tungkulin lamang na ilatag ang iba’t ibang tala at hayaang magdesisyon ang mga mag-aaral sa kung paano nila titingnan ang mga pahina ng ating kasaysayan. Sa pamamagitan nito, mas magiging kritikal ang talakayan anupat pwedeng hamunin ang mga nangingibabaw na nosyon. Mas magiging buo ang pag-unawa sa nakaraang kaganapan sapagkat mas makikilala ng mga mag-aaral ang iba’t ibang perspektibo, karanasan, at kontribusyon ng iba’t ibang grupo kagaya ng mga katutubo, kababaihan, at iba pang marginalized groups. Sa buong proseso, mas magiging dinamiko ang pagkatuto kung saan mas mangingibabaw ang paraan sa kung paano binibigyang-kahulugan ng mga mag-aaral ang teksto ng kasaysayan. 

Napakayaman ng kasaysayan ng bansa para ituro lamang ito gamit ang tuwid na linya na siyang nagdudugtong mula sa nakaraan hanggang sa kasalukuyan. Hindi iisa ang ranas ng Pilipino, hindi rin iisa ang tinulayan nating pagbabago, kaya nararapat lamang na matutuhan natin ito mula sa iba’t ibang boses nang sa gayun ay makapagmina tayo ng henerasyong kritikal at malikhaing mag-isip, na makapaghahain ng mas kapaki-pakinabang na plano para sa pag-unlad ng bansa gamit ang holistikong kaalaman sa kasaysayan. – Rappler.com

Nagtangka nang maging alagad ng wika si G. Vincent C. Conde pero naisip niyang hindi sapat na magkaroon ng alam sa wika nang hindi pinayayaman ang dunong sa iba’t ibang salik ng bansa gaya ng kultura at kasaysayan. Iyan ang dahilan kung bakit siya kumukuha sa ngayon ng Masterado sa University of the Philippines Diliman sa kursong Philippine Studies (Socio-cultural). Kasalukuya’y abala rin siya sa pagtuturo ng pananaliksik sa Senior High students ng Luis Palad Integrated High School. Pokus ng kaniyang sulating akademiko ang isyu ng social structures, midya, ideolohiya sa  edukasyon, kasarian at sekso.