A Note on the Fourth of July:

A Note on the Fourth of July:

The Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17,1775---From a Defeat to Victory

Today, on the Fourth of July, while the whole of the United States revel in holiday, we pause to remember a day that led to the 4th of July, the first great battle for independence, the Battle of Bunker Hill in the state of New England.

On June 17, 1775, the first battle of the American  War for Independence against England was fought in Breeds Hill in the outskirts of Boston that became to be known in American history as the Battle of Bunker Hill.

It was a defeat for the Americas but was a very costly victory for the British crown.

The first skirmishes for the American struggle was fought earlier in Lexington and Concord but the first formal battle was joined between the British Army and the American militia in Breeds Hill 235 years ago.

The Battle was later known to be the Battle of Bunker Hill because it was the original objective of the British but they were met by the American in Breeds Hill closer to Boston, thus the battle was known as such.

The British army assaulted the hill for three times and suffered more than 1,000 killed. Out of the force of more than 2,300 who attacked the hill.  The Americans lost the battle because they run out of ammunition and retreated and suffered less than 271 killed. Indeed for the British it was a costly victory.

Why must we remember the Battle of Bunker Hill?

For the spirit to fight and win the greater battle is the spirit of the fight in Bunker Hill.

This is the spirit for the war for liberty and American principle of fighting for its principle.

Like in all  world revolutions, the first battles might be lost, but in the end the war will be won by the people. The Filipinos lost their first battle in San Juan in the revolution of 1896, Cuban  Jose Marti was killled in Cuba, The Grito De Dolores in Mexico was lost to Spain, the revolution of 1905 in Russia was a failure and many others like the Battle of Bunker Hill of 1775 but it gave birth to the 4th of July that we always mark today with fireworks.

The Filipino American veterans of World War II and their survivors  were denied of that recognition and benefits so they
have   to fight a losing battle in the courts and the halls of US Congress in order to win in the end.

Their fight has been long and tortuous but as the American colonist fought for more than 150 years and a war for independence for more 18 years, we will prevail.

With the adherence to America principle and tenacity as the Battle for Bunker Hill, with that spirit the JFAV, AWARE and MHC and all its advocates are sure to gain final victory in the end.

Fight on for recognition, justice and equity!

Justice for Filipino American Veterans and their widows!

Happy 4th of July to All!

Ilang Tala para sa Araw ng Kalayaan ng Amerika, Hulyo 4, 2011

Artikulo

Ilang Tala para sa Araw ng Kalayaan ng Amerika, Hulyo 4, 2011

Nang mapanood ko ang "John Adams" sa HBO, sumagi sa aking gunita at wari'y nahabag ako at naikompara ang  naganap kina Felipe Agoncillo na nagtangkang katawanin ang Unang Republika sa Amerika noong 1899.

Inalipusta siya at di tinanggap ng Kongreso ng Amerika. Tulad ni Adams, kinatawan ni Felipe Agoncillo ang republika ni Aguinaldo sa Amerika sa panahong may digmaan sa pagitan ng Amerika at ng Pilipinas. Kaiba kay Adams na tinanggap sa Pransya,

Sina Teodor Agoncillo ay inupasala, hindi tinanggap at hindi kinalala ngKongreso ng Amerika. Sa kabila nang katotohanang sariling gatos ang lakad ni Agoncillo, hindi ito naging mabunga, Tanging ang Anti-Imperilalist League lamang sa Boston ang nakinig sa kanila.  Sa halip, nagdeklara pa ng gyera ang Kongreso at ginawang pormal ang gyera at sinakop pa ang Pilipinas sa loob ng 50 taon at magpahangang ngayon.

Samantalang si John Adams, dahil hindi marunong magsalita ng Pranses ay napag-iwanan ni Benjamin Franklin sa gawaing diplomatiko Sa Korte ng Pransya,tulad ni Agoncillo, siya ay dumanas ng mga pagkabigo at pag-upasala. Hindi lamang sa mga Pranses kundi sa mga Holandes . Ito ay nang magsikap siyang humingi ng suporta sa Amsterdam, Holandiya, Ni ayaw siyang pautangin dahil wala raw kakayahang magbayad ang Amerika.

Ang karanasang ito ay tumatak sa kamalayan ni Adams. Siya ang nagsabi na kailangang irespeto muna ang sarili bago irespeto ng iba. Ngunit napatunayan niyang umpisa lamang ito. Kailangan ka ring irespeto ng iba sa pamamagitan ng iyong sariling lakas.

Ganoon din ang nangyari kay Benjamin Franklin na matagal binuro ng mga Pranses bago binigyan ng pansin ng Hari ng Pransya. Kaiba lang kay John Adams, si Franklin ay lubhang pasensyoso at sanay sa buhay burges. nasanay na siya sa arte ng diplomasya. Ang arte ng matagal na paghihintay at tamang oportunidad. Hindi tulad ni Adams na laking bukid, may ugaling magsasaka na mainipin bagamat isang intelektwal.

Magkaiba sila ni Franklin o ni Thomas Jefferson na kapwa magaling magsalita ng Pranses. Direkta at mainipin si Adams. Kaya hindi siya makatagal sa diplomasya na ayon kay Franklin ay; “Ang arte ng nagpapakita ng maraming gawain habang  itinatago sa kakaunting resulta.”

Karanasang Pilipino 

Sa karanasan ng Pilipinas, sina Andres Bonifacio at Emilio Jacinto mismo ang nakapag-usap sa mga Hapon at nakakuha ng suporta ng Emperador laban sa Kastila at para sa rebolusyong Pilipino ng 1896. Sa katunayan, nagdeklara at nagbigay ng tulong ang Emperador ng Hapon. Dangan nga lamang ang unang byahe ng mga armas ay sinamang palad na lumubog. Ang iba pang armas ay naimbak sa Hapon at inabutan na ng rebolusyon.

Samantala sa Hongkong, sina Felipe Agoncillo, Mariano Ponce at Juan Luna ang nagsikap na kumalap ng malawak na suportang materyal at pinasyal para sa rebolusyon. Nagpatuloy ito laban sa digmaan laban sa Amerikano. Sa katunayan, nagpatuloy si Mariano Ponce na nagbase sa Hongkong at Japan sa pakikipagtalastasan sa mga Hapon kahit na nasakop ng mga Amerikano ang Pilipinas.

Sa katunayan, sa pakikipag-ugnayans a kaibigang si SunYat Sen, nailipat ni Mariano Ponce ang may 2,000 ripleng Kimura na hindi nailusot tungo sa Pilipinas para maitulong sa rebolusyong Tsino laban sa dinastiyang Manchu  noong 1911. Naipasok ang armas sa pamamagitan ng mga tauhan ni Sun Yat Sen at ginamit sa pag-aalsa sa Canton laban sa Emperador ng Manchu.

Lubos itong kinikilala ng mga Tsino maging ng Tagapangulong Mao nang lumaya ang Tsina noong 1949 bilang isang “ malaking tulong sa rebolusyong Tsino.”

Ito ang karanasan ng mga diplomata ng mga bagong tatag na republika o nang mga nakikipaglabang kilusan sa lahat ng panig ng mundo. Ito ay bahagi ng kanilang pagpapakilala sa kanilang rebolusyonaryong kilusan. Kaya nga dahil sa karanasang ito tumimo sa isip nian Adams maging kay Washington ang patakarang panlabas ng Amerika; “ Wala itong permanenteng kaibigan o kaaway, tanging permanenteng pambansang interes.”

Kaya sa  ikalawang pagtungo sa Kongreso sa paglolobby  ng JFAV, dala ang inspirasyon kina Adams ng Amerika at Agoncillo ng Pilipinas, dala namin ang determinasyong ipaglaban ang interes ng ating mga beterano at balo kahit waring papalimos ng awa at benepisyo para sa ating mga kababayan.

Isulong ang pakikibaka para sa hustisya at pagkakapantay-pantay!

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My Childhood Memories of Manila

Discordant Notes

My Childhood Memories of Manila

The first thing that struck me when I went to the Amsterdam, twelve years ago was that it looked like Old Manila during the 1960’s. It bring back good memories of old Manila to me.

Manila was then, looked and feel like Amsterdam. There were a lot of foot bridges ( wooden most of them) between the canals. There were small stone bridges  especially near Intramuros. But the wooden bridges that connect communities north of Manila we fondly call of them lambingan bridge.

In the middle class communities,apartment homes abound. They exactly looked  like old Europe, Amsterdam and New York. Up the hill, we marvelled at Hollywood type homes with high walls. We used to run and up and down the hill, it was still a rough road until they asphalted it.

It was one of our child games. To run and outrun each other up the hill and down the hill. We will make a run around the old church walls and find our way back down the hill near the river. Our elementary school is located near the bank of the river. And at the other bank is a big high school they demolished and built new apartments.

We play in its ruins while they were starting to build the new apartment. We play at the piles of old woods and stones where Lipa High School stood.   Now you cannot make out of the place filled with apartments and houses.

We replayed the scenes we watched in war movies and the television series “Combat” starring Victor Morrow and Rick Jason and play Japanese versus Filipino guerillas. We usually make our own wooden rifles or submachine guns. 

Or sometimes, when we grew tired of fighting war, we engage in sword play. Banging swords and shields made from tin can covers usually  the big margarine cans. We play pirates or princes or sometimes as Vikings or like El Cid.

The river we call big canals in Manila were clean. They were not filled with trash. We could swim in there after a storm not on ordinary days when it is dark. It was dredged almost weekly. 

We fondly watched the big derricks dredge the rivers every other day and watch how it scooped the dark soil and dirt out of the water. Nowadays, they have outsource dredging the rivers to foreign companies.

Then Marcos decide to cover up all the canals and small rivers and made it as roads. Now the old canals that runs from the north of Manila to the Pasig river is gone.

That is the short story why Manila is always flooded. Imagine Amsterdam or Venice without its canals. They you will understand Manila well.

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