Oratorical Piece: Dirty Hands I m proud of my dirty hands. Yes, they are dirty.

And they are rough and knobby and calloused. And I m proud of the dirt and the knobs and the calluses. I didn t get them that way by playing bridge or drinking afternoon tea out of dainty cups, or playing the well-advertised Good Samaritan atcharity balls. I got them that way by working with them, and I m proud of the work and the dirt. Why shouldn t I feel proud of the work they do these dirty hands of mine? My hands are the hands of plumbers, of truck drivers and street cleaners; ofcarpenters; engineers, machinists and workers in steel. They are not pretty hands, they are dirty and knobby and calloused. But they are strong hands, hands that make so much that the world must have or die. Someday, I think, the world should go down on its knees and kiss all the dirty hands of the working world, as in the days long past, armored knights would kiss the hands of ladies fair. I m proud of my dirty hands. The world has kissed such hands. The world will always kiss such hands. Men and women put reverent lips to the hands of Him who held the hammer and the saw and the plane. His weren t pretty hands either when they chopped trees, dragged rough lumber, and wielded carpenter s tools. They were workingman s hands strong, capable proud hands. And weren t pretty hands when the executioners got through them. They were torn right clean through by ugly nails, and the blood was running from them, and the edges of the wounds were raw and dirty and swollen; and the joints were crooked and the fingers were horribly bent in a mute appeal for love. They weren t pretty hands then, but, Oh God, they were beautiful those hands of the Savior. I m proud of those dirty hands, hands of my Savior, hands of God. And I m proud of my hands too, dirty hands, like the hands of my Savior, the Hands of my God! "AM I TO BE BLAMED?" (declaimation) They're chasing me, they're chasing, no they must not catch me, I have enough money now, yes enough for my starving mother and brothers. Please let me go, let me go home before you imprisoned me. Very well, officers? take me to your headquarters. Good morning captain! no captain, you are mistaken, I was once a good girl, just like the rest of you here. Just like any of your daughters. But time was, when I was reared in slums. But we lived honestly, we lived honestly in life. My, father, mother, brothers, sisters and I. But then, poverty enters the portals of our home. My father became jobless, my mother got ill. The small savings that my mother had kept for our expenses were spent. All for our daily needs and her needed medicine. One night, my father went out, telling us that he would come back in a few minutes with plenty of foods and money, but that was the last time I saw him. He went with another woman. If only I could lay my hands on his neck I would wring it without pain until he breaths no more. If you were in my place, you'll do it, won't you Captain? What? you won't still believe in me?. Come and I'll show you a dilapidated shanty by a railroad. Mother, mother I'm home, mother? mother?!. There Captain, see my dead mother. Captain? there are tears in your eyes? now pack this stolen money and return it to the owner. What good would this do to my mother now? she's already gone! Do you hear me? she's already gone. Am I to be blamed for the things I have done? FIVE LOAVES OF BREAD She stood at the bar of justice A frightened creature wan and wild In form too small for a woman, In feature too old for a child. For a look so worn and pathetic Was stamped on her lovely face It seemed that years of suffering Was something time couldn t erase. Your name? asked the judge as he eyed her. Is Anna Ruiz, Sir, said the girl. And your age? asked the judge again,

Then girl replied, I ve turned fifteen. Well Anna, I m sorry to say, That you have been charged today By your town baker who said, That you stole five loaves of bread Do you know that stealing is bad? And that you have displeased our God? Do you know that you could be jailed? And cannot be set free or bailed? Your Honor, I know it was wrong, But day in and out I walked along Looking for work so I could earn Even hard jobs, I m willing to learn. But fate s unkind, my father is dead, My mother is sick and lying in bed, My brothers and sisters missed six meals, They asked for food with eyes full of tears. What could I do to save them from death? I myself was losing my breath So I took the five loaves of bread, But I ll pay with services instead. There was silence in the courtroom, That was suddenly filled with gloom. The women wiped their tears away, They heaved a sigh and tried to pray. All dug into their pockets, And then brought out their wallets Sounds were heard of golden coins that fall Into boxes passed around the hall. The baker stood up and told the judge Your Honor, I m withdrawing my charge. A rich lady gave Anna a job That helped her and all that she loved.

Water: Life and Legacy I stand before you today as one of the participants of this oratorical contest. But, more than this, I stand before you today as a young Paulinian to remind ourselves of this very precious truth that water is life and our legacy. Billions of centuries ago, before God created Man as the climax of his creative activity, he first secured that there was water. Then God said, Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear. And so it happened the water under the sky was gathered into its basin, and the dry land appeared. God called the dry land the earth, and the basin of the water he called the sea. God saw how good it was. After this momentous event in the history of humanity, as water started to flow into the rivers and mountains, life also started to flourish on the face of the earth. The priority of water in the Creation Story was not a coincidence. It was done for an important purpose. Ever since the beginning of everything, our loving creator foreknew that life

would not be possible without water. Man and other creatures can live for a few days without food. But, they can t live without water. All life forms depend on water. We all need water. Indeed, God s creation was good. But billions of centuries later, we are faced with the sad reality that a global crisis is threatening life s essential substance. Today, billions of people are suffering from scarcity of water. That s why if you go to Barcelona, Spain these days, be extra careful in watering your flowers. It is because this city is so dry that there s a 9,000 Euro fine if you re caught watering your flowers. Two months ago, a tanker ship docked there carrying 5 million gallons of precious fresh water. Barcelona is just one of the many cities in the world that is ferrying water from other countries to quench the thirst of their people. Our country is not exempted from water scarcity. Study shows that the Philippines ranks second among the lowest of water availability among Asian countries. No wonder, Dow Chemical Chairman Andrew Liveris told the World Economic Forum in February, Water is the oil of this century. Water pollution is also a big threat to our important source of life on this planet. It is sad that nearly 2.2 million metric tons of organic pollution is produced annually by domestic, agricultural and industrial sectors. This problem produces other problems. Pollution results into the contamination of 58% of ground water intended for drinking water supplies with coliform. This is the reason why many get sick easily. In 1996-2001, 31% got sick of water related diseases. There were frequent occurrences of red tide during the last decade. There were 42 toxic outbreaks and 2,107 paralytic shellfish poisoning cases with 117 deaths. With the attack of pollution, it is hard to accept the fact that everyday 25,000 people on our planet die of preventable water-related diseases. Nine thousand of them are children under the age of 5. This means that after we finish this oratorical contest today, many people die of preventable water-related disease. Now, let us ask ourselves, Do we still have hope as a people? Can we still assure the next generation of a brighter future? Do we still have the chance to see our children and our children s children swimming in our beautiful beaches? I say to you today, ladies and gentlemen, that in spite of the difficulties and challenges that we are facing, I still believe that we still have hope as a people. I still believe that we can still assure the next generation of a brighter future, a future when there will be no scarcity of water resources but the luxury and joy of its abundance. I still believe because I am a Filipino whose blood of our great fore fathers who built the Rice Terraces and defended our country from oppressors runs through my veins. I still believe because I am a Filipino endowed with great values of bravery and patriotism, valor and indomitable will to survive, love of family and trust in God. Let us then use these values that we have as Filipinos to raise awareness of the condition of our waters and its impact to our health. Let us utilize these values to strictly implement the laws that protect our waters. Let us use these values to work together regardless of our color, status and beliefs to find ways in which we can help finance projects that would secure the quality of our water resources. Let us put our talents and creativity to build infrastructures that would help develop the accessibility of water to our countrymen and to the rest of the people of the world. Let us call our youth whom Rizal called the The Hope of our Nation to share their energy and enthusiasm in environmental protection and management. When we use and cultivate these God-given values to protect our waters, when we put all our gifts and talents together to help our world, then our water will continue to be an abundant source of our life as it used to be billions of years ago and our great legacy that each of us living today will proudly leave behind when we go to the Great Beyond to our children and to the children of the next generations to come. I thank you. When a Young Man Speaks of His Land (An Oratorical Piece)

It s a word often used and spoken of, but not always achieved. A simple state and condition that all of us desire. It s wanted by many and begged for by some.

Somehow, it can be the rustling of the leaves in a stone-cold night silent and calm. It can be the humming of the birds; the buzzing of the bees; the dripping of the rain and; the feel of the rays of the rising sun on your skin. It s the feeling of hope and freedom that unites us all in a certain grandeur that neither the whooshing sound of the fastest bullets nor the loudest explosions can compete. Peace. Yes, the longing for peace. A strong yearning that I, as a young man of fifteen has long hidden in this tanned face of innocence that adults find too nave to be even told of our country s pains and sorrows. I remember the story of the Filipino child who cried his peculiar wails of terror. Wails that were heard neither by his uncaring mother nor by his unconcerned brothers and sisters. Who was willing to listen? Nobody was. He was rejected, unhappy and I m afraid I m feeling the same way, too. I always wanted to help our country, had they known? Would they want to listen to this mouth s meek words? The words that have long been threatening to come out of this hopeful heart a heart that still beats and hopes for this country to be saved from the constant bang-bang of guns; from the sea of smoke and gun powder and corpses of guiltless people who, themselves, wanted peace for their own land. No. They made their decisions not to. Though words were not spoken, it was clear that they never wanted others to interfere. War happened. The state was against the Church. Government was against the armed forces. They had not made their way out. Not yet because they had not wanted to find a solution. And what is the solution to all these? Kill them? Eliminate them, corrupt and unjust officials, using bombs and laugh and cheer to the sound of their shrieks of pain? No. An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind. Listen to Mahatma Gandhi, because killing and fighting won t solve anything. Should they be persuaded to listen to the voices willing to help? Should they take the hands of those eager to lift them out and give them a way out? Let them humble themselves? Get them down, out of their pedestals? There is only one solution that is clear change. How can this be achieved? Victor Frankl once said, When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. As a young man, I do understand this. Our country is now engulfed in rivers of crimes and injustice, and other problems that are slowly drowning us the people. Slowly, it s attacking us, soaking us into its deep fluid prison. Soon, it will be too late. If we are looking for a way out, we must start changing now. I understand that change must begin within us. Within ourselves. Then we ll start to move forward and persuade others to do the same and they, too will spread the word, will persuade others, until all of us have arrived in the right situation and find the right solutions. Change. Let me start this movement. But beginning with myself isn t the real problem. The real question is, Will you be willing to follow?

If you are, then you are willing to be the New Filipino. The Filipino who has a face marked with hope and freedom, and love for his country. The Filipino who wants to grasp peace above all in his waiting hands, and wants to renew and heal his nation that was scarred with untamed fear. The Filipino who will remove the traces of graft and corruption, of brutal crimes, and of famine and thirst, that slowly kills. And blood. It shall be your mission to keep our countrymen s priceless blood from being shed and wasted for nothing. You can make all these cruelties cease. You can, if you are willing. If you are willing to become the New Filipino, like me. I will take the first step, you will take the second. We shall start the change that the Philippines has been waiting for. We shall, together, start the generation of the New Filipinos. This is not a forced decision, yes, because we have choices. But we must choose what we know is better. We must choose like the way the soaring eagle chose its prey from a thousand others on land; like the way the little boy chose his favorite toy car from other shiny ones. It is through choosing what is right for you above all others that makes a difference, that makes a change. And what s next to this? Happiness. And yes. Peace at last. I live in a land of freedom. Now, I, as a young man, who was made and born here who is willing to help, to change myself for peace, for our country want to speak freely of this land. For this land. I speak of this because I want to do something. I want to help to build a strong foundation for a bridge that I will soon build. A bridge for the New Filipino to climb and to cross. It shall be a bridge of hope, of new beginnings for the Filipino people. A brand new chance for the youths of today and for heroes of tomorrow. Remember, the most valuable change that could ever happen is the change that you shall see within yourself. Begin with it and you shall see the beginning of the Filipino life in a thousand more seeds that will surely flourish and become the trees of a more beautifully hopeful generation.

We Have Become Untrue to Ourselves! With all the force and vigor at my command, I contend that we have relaxed our vigilance, that we have allowed ourselves to deteriorate. I contend that we have lost our pride in thePhilippines, that we no longer consider it a privilege and an honor to be born a Filipino. To the Filipino youth, nothing Filipino is good enough any more. Even their Filipino names no longer suit them. A boy named Juan does not care to be called Juanito anymore. No, he must be Johnny. A girl named Virginia would

get sore if she was nicknamed Viring or Biang. No, she must be Virgie or Ginny. Roberto has become Bobbie; Maria, Mary or Marie. And because they have become so Americanized, because they look down on everything Filipino, they now regard with contempt all the things that our fathers and our fathers fathers held dear. They frown on kissing the hands of

their elders, saying that it is unsanitary. They don t care for the Angelus, saying that it is old-fashioned. They belittle the kundiman, because it is so drippingly sentinmental. They are what they are today because their elders their parents and their teachers have allowed them to be such. They are incongruities because they cannot be anything else! And they cannot be anything else because their elders did not know enough, or did not care enough to fashion them and to mold them into the Filipino pattern. This easing of the barriers that would have protected our Filipinism, this has resulted in something more serious, I refer to the de-Filipinization of our economic life. Let us face it. Economically speaking, we Filipinos have become strangers in our own country. And so, today, we are witnesses to the spectacle of a Philippines inhabited by Filipinos who do not act and talk like Filipinos. We are witnesses to the pathetic sight of aPhilippines controlled and dominated and run by non-Filipinos. We have become untrue to ourselves, we have become traitors to the brave Filipinos who fought and died so that liberty might live in the Philippines. We have betrayed the trust that Rizal reposed on us, we are not true to the faith that energized Bonifacio, the faith that made Gregorio del Pilar cheerfully lay down his life at Tirad Pass. Indeed, we have become untrue to ourselves!