June 12 is a date significant to Filipinos. It does not matter whether they are in their native land or in another part of this planet, June 12 is a date wherein Filipinos congregate and raise their national flag, June 12 is Philippine Independence Day.
In Markham, Ontario, the town council declared a Philippine Independence Week, starting June 6 to Jun 12, 2010. The flag-raising was held at the Markham Town Centre, attended by federal, provincial and municipal government officials as well as the Philippine Consul-General of Toronto, who all spoke during the short program emulating the contributions of the Filipinos to the Markham Community as well as to Canada in general.
They made mention of how Filipino culture has enriched Canada. One dignitary made mention of the large number of young people in the audience, first, second and probably third generation Filipino Canadians whom he thinks are learning about their parents’, roots and pride of their origin.
Indeed, the celebration of Philippine Independence Day aims to awaken in its people that pride of being a Filipino. We brought with us many desirable traits that we try to instill in our children and grandchildren, our close family ties, our respect for our elders, our hospitality and hard work ethic, our sense of gratitude to those who have extended a helping hand to us and our care for extended family. We have brought and shared our Filipino cuisine that other cultures tremendously enjoy. We have entertained the community with our dances and songs. Our native handicrafts are admired and our embroidered clothing has been worn by members of other ethnocultural groups.
Filipino nurses who made up a great number of early immigrants to Canada can be found in almost all health facilities in this country. They are appreciated for their hard work and loving, tender care they give to their patients.
The third wave of immigrants from the Philippines was made up of mostly caregivers for children and seniors. Most of these workers have had post-secondary education but could not find jobs in the Philippines. They work in many other countries but they prefer to come to Canada because of the program here that allows them permanent residence after two years of satisfactory service as live-in caregivers. They can then sponsor their families to come to Canada. These workers have been a means for many Canadian mothers to go to work or pursue out of home interests.
Filipinos indeed, have built their part in the Canadian mosaic. A great number have mainstreamed not only because they have been productively employed, but also because most of them have proficiency in English and have had considerable education in their country of origin. Most second and third generation Filipino Canadians also do well in schools and in their places of work.
We have every reason to be proud as we raise our flag and sing the national anthem on Philippine Independence Day. But how much of that pride comes from our understanding of what our national anthem says and what the symbolisms in our flag stand for? How much do we really appreciate the freedom that we Filipinos enjoy?
How much pride do we feel as a part of a Filipino nation, a group of people of different regional backgrounds with twelve main languages and one hundred forty three dialects?
And yet, in spite of our diversities, we are a nation that share a history of a people divided by mountains and seas and had fought for 333 years to gain that independence we celebrate in June 12th. Each region had its own great men fighting the same colonists. Our flag reminds us of the first eight provinces symbolized by the rays of the sun that first rose in arms against its colonial government. The three stars represent the main groups of islands- Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
The same history shows that we did not start united. We were tribal; one tribe against another _Visayans against Tagalogs, Muslims against Christians, one tribe against another under the colonists’ command. At the time, no one proclaimed himself a Filipino.
Eventually Tagalogs, Visayans, Pampangos, Ilokanos and Bikolanos began to call themselves Filipinos but only to indicate their land of birth, rather than as a people of one nation. The colonists called people of the Philippines Indios.
It was Dr. Jose Rizal “The first Filipino” by Leon Ma. Guerrero, Pinton Press, Quezon City 1963, p. 496), who taught his countrymen to be Filipinos who were members of a Filipino nation. He was the first to “unite the whole archipelago” and envisioned a “compact and homogenous” society of all the old tribal communities from Batanes to the Sulu Sea, based on common interests and “mutual protection.”
As we stand side by side looking up at our national flag, singing together our national anthem, let us cherish together our mutual love for peace and freedom that took more than three centuries for us to attain. Considering the turmoil that our ancestors had with one another before they finally worked together toward the same goals we can see that we have much to thank those who had lived before us.
Relatively speaking, Filipinos are a young nation. While we have been the beneficiaries of a long struggle for freedom, we have also inherited some of the “tribal” divisiveness among our people. We still retain some of our regional pride as Tagalog, Ilokano, Visayan, Pangasinense, Pampango, Bicolano, Zambaleno, Zamboangeno and many other groups that exist in the Philippines. As we work together as Filipinos, let us be aware of our diversities and be understanding and tolerant of them. This calls to mind a remark of one member of the Philippine Press Club of Ontario whose wife reminded him when he was preparing to attend a meeting of the organization, “O, huwag kayong mag-aaway doon.”