It is the day when all Americans commemorate their Independence Day from the Kingdom of Great Britain after the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. It was also the Philippine's day of declaration of independence from the United States of America.
Or a bogus declaration of independence I should say. Historians strongly point out that there were numerous strings attached to that relinquishment of sovereignty. We are indeed the door to the great Pacific and it would be greatly advantageous for a superpower to have control on such a territory. So, even after the said independence, their military bases were retained; they've dictated and have been dictating directly their access and control over our economy so that they can molest our natural resources.
All of that were granted to them by the then congress unless we will rebuild our own nation all by ourselves and say, "No, thank you. We can manage," to their post World War II rebuilding funds. This has been the US government’s dirty strategy of blackmailing and taking advantage of a powerless state’s dire needing. You won't privatize your water or energy sources and World Bank or IMF loans won't be approved. They're basically done with a lot of our Government Financial Institutions (GFIs) and Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs) starting with late President Cory Aquino's presidency and intensified under President Fidel Ramos – both are US puppets just like their predecessors.
Right now, our country's economy greatly depends on other countries' investments. Perfect to mention are the ones in the Business Process Outsourcing industry. Yes, it provides us jobs but in reality a lot of injustices are being done to us. But better live with it than none is the common mentality.
What I am trying to point out though is that our nation has not really experienced any real and genuine Independence. The US government's idea of an empire has been deeply rooted in our system and being religiously nurtured until now. And yes, we have faced very grave and heavy consequences - our deteriorating educational system, the arbitrary, unlawful and extrajudicial killings of journalists and activists, just to mention a few.
Prof. Bienvenido Lumbera, National Artist and Chair of Educators for Development (EfD) at the IBON National Educators’ Conference in Cebu City on 28 April 2010 perfectly put my thoughts into words:
"It must be pointed out that the colonial educational system did not go away after the so-called grant of independence in 1946. Like a parasitic plant it sunk deep roots on Philippine soil, nurtured by the original products of the Thomasites, and later when it had begun to age, revived by the Peace Corps volunteers. From time to time, there would be talks of reform, but the bureaucratic infrastructure set up by the Bureau of Education proved to be impervious to re-structuring in the hands of men and women who were themselves products of such a structure and therefore could not bring themselves to undo a system that made them what they are."
He added:
"Educators born generations away from the architects and vanguards of the colonial system can only hope that a new generation of educators with a nationalist orientation would arise to institute radical changes in the way the youth in schools are formed."
If students have not stood up together to stop the tuition fee increase in major state universities like UP and PUP, what could have become of our worsening educational state already?
In the same manner, the US government led war on terror has indeed created ghastly terrors in our own land not just in Afghanistan or Iraq. For the past 9 years, the US-Arroyo administration has 900 lives of activists who were critical of the government, including students and labor leaders, to account for. No other administration in the Philippine history has so much blood spilled on their hands than the one under the US-puppet President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Under the Oplan Bantay Laya, the US government has been using our own security forces to harass, exterminate and summarily slaughter our own people as they hide behind their just War on Terror that they themselves have created so that they can take over the entire world’s economy and resources. They and their brilliant idea of an Empire.
A lot have been hoping that the neophyte administration under the newly elected President Noynoy Aquino would bring about the advent of a new and reformed government. This five-day old administration has shown that it has no fangs and no serious motive to do something about the unrepressed arbitrary, unlawful, and extrajudicial killings and summary executions of journalists and activists in our country.
Today, the first extrajudicial killing under the Aquino administration happened with impunity. Fernando Baldomero, the provincial coordinator in Aklan of the party-list group Bayan Muna and also a town councilor of Lezo, Aklan, was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen early Monday.
The extrajudicial killing came two days after Jose Daguio, a 75-year-old reporter and commentator of Radyo Natin and a columnist of a community newspaper, was shot dead in his home in Tabuk City Saturday night.
This is the real independence we are currently enjoying. Moreover, it is so sad to say that the present generation, or many amongst us have been blinded and neutralized, are already apathetic, towards these issues. The United States’ strategy of instilling a false propaganda such as going to war for just causes like anti-terrorism, economic partnership and instability is slowly gnawing through our patriotic minds. So that one will be left questioning oneself, when will our hands and feet be unchained?
Quoting and rephrasing Prof. Lumbera’s words: we can only hope that a new generation of Filipinos with a nationalist orientation would arise to institute radical changes.
Let us fight for true Liberty!!!
No to US Imperialism!!!
Justice for all the victims of Oplan Bantay Laya II!!!
Sources:
"History of the Philippines (1946-1965)," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Philippines_%281946%E2%80%931965%29
"Analysis on Privatization," http://www.skyinet.net/~courage/position/private1.htm
"THE POLITICAL PROCESS AND NATIONALIST EDUCATION by Prof. Bienvenido Lumbera," http://www.ibon.org/ibon_events.php?page=&id=57
"First killing of activist under Aquino condemned," http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20100705-279295/First-killing-of-activist-under-Aquino-condemned
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