"I Am a Filipino" is often considered a order to bring this country standing still.
The
manifesto for the Filipinos' dream of freedom
from colonial rule. It is the most famous
literary work of Carlos P. Romulo and was
published in August of 1941 in the
Philippines Herald.
"I Am a Filipino" is an essay that underlines
the burning desire of the Filipinos for
independence. It starts with a quick walk
through the history of the nation and
culminates with a paragraph that states "I
am a Filipino born to freedom." Romulo
mentions that the Philippines is a child
resulting from the marriage of the East and
the West and deserves to take a proud stand
in the world. His call for freedom is born from
the rights of the Filipinos to be proud of their
inheritance and he announces that he will
not find peace until the dream of freedom is
achieved for his people. Romulo was a Filpino
statesman, diplomat, author and journalist
who served under eight Philippine presidents
and was the country's representative to the
United States and the United Nations. "I Am
a Filipino" is often chosen by students for
elocution contests and is one of the most
famous nationalist manifestos in the world.
This excerpt was taken from Carlos P.
Romulos I am a Filipino, an essay that
showed not only his ever flowing patriotism
for his beloved country, the Philippines but
his brilliant mind and the gift of words. This
article encases the words we need to make
our heart swell with pride. As what Ninoy and
Cory Aquino had once said, The Filipinos,
regardless of their flaws, are worth dying and
living for. These people are few of those
who had let their life be taken for the sake of
the country they loved the most, the one of a
kind pearl of the orient.
Many heroes have died for our country, but
looking at it now, I cant believe we have
executed things that will lead us to nothing
but destruction. I cant believe we had the
same blood in that pulsated in our veins as
that of Jose Rizal and of our heroes. We are
not worthy of the freedom we have now. And
we are not worthy of the lives wasted in
reasons why we are worthless? They are
simple, because we are shameless and are
blinded by money and power.
Take the Maguindanao Massacre as the most
vivid example. The world stood still for the
most brutal murder that had happened in
history. Innocent people were buried alive in
the rich soil of Maguindanao w/o being given
the chance to fight for their lives. And who
had committed this heinous crime? Who
committed these brutal acts against our co-
Filipinos? He is just a powerful man who
belonged to the same race as these victims
do. And what had pushed him to do that?
Money, Power and nothing more. Yes, the
suspect may have been placed behind the
bars and persecuted for what he had done,
yet the brutal action he had done will always
linger in the air. The fact that a Filipino was
more than willing to kill and execute a brutal
murder against innocent persons who
belonged to the same race as his just
because of a thing as simple as money and
power would always remain in our hearts and
would always leave a red mark in history.
And not only that, there are more actions
that will make us feel humiliated in front our
heroes. Graft, corruption, abuse of power,
stealing, murder, the list is too long to be
ignored. Who would oppose these acts if not
us? When would these acts be opposed if not
now?
Watching how our fellowmen from the
Visayas face the terrible devastation that hit
their homes and killed their loved ones
how they picked up the broken pieces of
their lives, how they continued to live most
especially for others in spite of all their pain,
how they could still manage to smile and
even help their neighbors truly brought
back that pride of what being a Filipino truly
is. Seeing every Filipino ready to help each
other is inspiring and enough to feel proud to
be a Filipino.
Fernando Aracama, chef, Aracama
Beyond resilience, adaptability and having ready to help anybody in need. This makes
courage to face very difficult times, us me proud to be Filipino.
Filipinos have shown that we are also most
compassionate, selflessly eager and always