The Tomb of the Unknown Heroes in the Philippines

Discordant Notes

The Tomb of the Unknown Heroes in the Philippines

Arturo P. Garcia

One question that almost surprised me but I was able to answer during our lobby in the US Congress is one from the staff members from the representative from Riverside. She asked me why I became active in the struggle for the Filipino Veterans. But before that she asked me if I was a veteran.

I almost smiled because my age shows. Some people always ask me, especially college students if I was veteran. I always say I am so young to be a veteran because I was born after the war.

My bonding with my grandfather and my father is the answer to that. My grandfather and my father when I was in grade school, if they have spare time, always visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers at Fort Santiago during the early 1960’s.

And they always bring me with them on those visit. Those visit bonded all of us together and instilled in me the deep sense of patriotism and love of country.

My grandfather had bad memories of the Fort. Fort Santiago was the inner fort bastion inside the walled city of Manila during the 333 years of Spanish colonial rule and the 48 years rule of the Americans in the Philippines. It was there where he was tortured when he was arrested during the Japanese occupation. He will always point out the place where he was imprisoned and tortured. The dungeons of Fort Santiago.

And we will always end up in front of the Tomb where we always start. It was at the center of fort Santiago, in front of the gate of the old fort that became my favorite hiding and place where I meditate.

It was also the headquarters of the US Army in the Philippines from August 13, 1898 to July 1941 and the USAFFE from July 1941 to January 2, 1942 until it was relocated to the Malinta Tunnel in Corregidor from January 3, 1942 to May 6, 1942 when the USAFFE surrendered to the Japanese during WWII.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers was a simple tomb dedicated to all Filipino soldiers who fought during the Second World War. It was dedicated to all soldiers who were remained unidentified and who remained nameless, buried in nameless graves all over the country, those whose bodies were never found and were never given a decent burial during the war.

What distinguished it from other tombs that it has a light or an eternal flame that is never extinguished. This is a symbol of the nation’s eternal gratitude and also to symbolize their sacrifices and bravery for the people and the nation.

The light is inside a small lamp that protects the flame from all elements of nature—water, wind, air and others.  It is located on top of the tomb. Its simplicity evokes the simplicity of the courage and the character of our nation.

I always known that the tomb was there. Until one day when I was in college, I was dumbfounded that the tomb was not there anymore. It was transferred to the newly built national heroes cemetery called the “Libingan ng mga Bayani” in Fort Bonifacio in Rizal.

The Libingan was constructed side by side with the American War Memorial Cemetery in the Philippines. That is where the more than 17,000 American war dead from the combat in the Philippines and New Guinea are buried. It is also the largest American War cemetery outside of the United States.

If for the better, it was one of those good copycat that the Philippines learned from the US.

It became a habit of mine to take a walk to the Fort after walking through the newly renovated Rizal Park, the new name of Luneta, where Dr. Jose Rizal and hundreds of Filipinos met their martyrdom during the Philippine Revolution of 1896.

The government decided to renovate Fort Santiago and maybe somebody thought that the tomb is an obstacle to the beautification of the Rizal Shrine in Fort Santiago for it occupied the center.  It was placed in the center of the Libingan and in its place, a monument with three pillars were made for the tomb.

In its place, a marker was made that explains that the Fort was the exact place of the palisades of the city  made by Rajah Soliman, the ruler of Manila when it was conquered by the Spanish forces of General Legazpi, Captains De Goite and Salcedo in 1571.

I always hold that Fort Santiago was the most proper and fitting place for the Tomb of unknown Heroes for so many nameless Filipino martyrs met their death in Fort Santiago in the course of the 333 years of Spanish Colonialism and the Japanese Occupation from 1941-1944.

But the Fort was almost in shambles after the Americans destroyed it during the liberation of Manila during the early months of 1945. It has to be rebuilt for so many years until the Ramos administration completed it in time for the centennial of the Philippine Revolution in 1996.

I kept quiet for the Tomb was placed in a cemetery of the Republic. For it is the center piece of the whole cemetery for heroes. I rationalized that that maybe the reason they relocated the Tomb to that place.

I have questioned the government relocation of markers, destruction of historical places and other seemingly disrespect for history and heritage. But on this matter I gave them the benefit of the doubt.

The only question is if the dictator Marcos will be buried in that place, maybe the Tomb must be relocated elsewhere for it will desecrate the memories of the real nameless heroes if the dictator will be rested besides them.

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Bakit Kailangang Panoorin ng mga Pilipino sa Amerika ang “Amaya”

Lathalain

Bakit Kailangang Panoorin ng mga Pilipino sa Amerika ang “Amaya”

Hindi dahil sa nais kong ipahayag na maganda ang obrang “Amaya ng GMATV  dahil lubha na akong naiinis  sa mga pinaikot( recycled) na mga telenovela ng ABS-CBN o ng GMA 7. Kaya  “ Mula sa Puso” –ang nais kong sabihin.

Sa palagay ko makapangyarihan ang Amaya dahil naglalahad ito ng pakikibaka, buhay at sinaunang kultura at kasaysayan ng mga Pilipino. Partikular ng kultura at kasaysayan ng  mga kaugalian bago pa dumating ang mga mananakop na Kastila na nakikita parin natin hanggang ngayon sa ating komunidad sa Pilipinas maging sa Amerika.

Pinapatunayan nito ang mga sinulat ni Dr. Jose Rizal na may sariling kakanyahan at katangian ang mga sinaunang Pilipino bago pa man dumating ang mga Kastila.

Pinasisinungalingan nito ang mga pahayag ng mga mananalastas na Kastila maging ng ibang dayuhan na sumulat ng kasaysayan ng Pilipinas na walang kabihasnan ang mga Pilipino, mga ignorante at dumating sila para gawing sibilisado ang mga Pilipino.

Nakatutuwang sa kabila ng mga panggagagad ng mga ilang Pilipino sa dayuhan tulad ng mga telenovela kapwa sa ABS-CBN at sa GMA na nangogopya sa dayo tulad ng Captain Barbel, Immortal ( Gaya sa Twilight at True Blood), mga multo at kaluluwa tulad ng 100 Days atbp, dumating ang isang telenovelang istorikong nagpapahayag ng ating pagiging maka-Pilipino.

Personal sa akin, waring nagiging balik-aral ito sa mga aralin sa Social Studies noong elementary na nagbibigay aral sa sinaunang Pilipinas. Sa mga Prinsesa ng kumintang , mga duplo, Balagstasan at sa mga panahong ng mga Datu at Rakajn.

Ang yumaong Ishmael Bernal ay nagplanong gawaing pelikula ang buhay at pakikibaka ni Rajah Soliman ng Maynila at ang makasaysayng labanan sa bangkusay. Dnagan nga lamang at inabutan ito ng martial law ni Marcos noong 1972.

Noong mawala ang panahong gumagawa pa ang mga director natin ng mga pelikulang tulad ng Makario Sakay, Lapu-Lapu, Noli me Tangere at ang buhay ni Rizal at Andres Bonifacio at nangalwala na ang gma pelikulang ito. Isang  bugso ng sariwang hangin ang Amaya na nilikha ng GMATV.

Muling nanariwa sa akin ang dahilan kung bakit nagsasaboy tayo ng bigas kapag may kinakasal. Bakit nagbibigay ng dote kapag namamahinkan. At kung bakit ang mga ugaling ito ay nanatili kahot na makabago na ang panahon.

May mga pumipintas man o bumabatikos sa katotohanan at pagiging tumpak ng Amaya, hindi na dapat itong pansinin. Ito  ay dahil ano ba ang tumpak sa kalagayang halos nabura na at wala nang naitala ang ating kasaysayan dahil sa 300 taong pananakop ng mga Kastila at pangagantso ng Hollywood sa mga Pilipino. Mahusay ang panulat ni Bb. Doctolero.

Tatalakayin ko marahil sa mga susunod na talakayan. Kung dito ko ito tatalakayin hahaba an gating talakayan. Ayokong pagsawain kayo sa aking isinusulat.

Isa lang ang matingkad na bagay ang sumasagi sa aking isipan. Hindi kailaman maibabaon sa limo tang kasaysayan at ang magiting na kultura ng isang lahi, mailalarawan at mailalarawan ito kahit na sikaping patayin ng ibang kultura.

At mananaig ito tulad ng Amaya. Kaya dapat lamang panoorin ito ng bawat Pilipino sa Amerika man at sa Pilipinas. 

Tangikilin at mahalin ang sariling atin!

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My Childhood Memories of Manila

Discordant Notes
July 7, 2011

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. They are near the schools and the business district of Quiapo, Santa Cruz and the like. Residential homes abound in the south of the main streets.

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 the palatial homes of the Legardas. And around it are the nipa shacks of the poor district of Sampaloc.

A railroad divide the lower class from the upper class. As you go up the hill, the richer the people are. The bigger are the houses.

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.

We use to mill around one of the oldest and smallest park in Manila. It was called Plaza Guipit. Gipit in Tagalog means "a place that is too narrow." But the people say it also means "too poor". Referring to their state.The city mayor then, Antonio Villegas replaced it with a new name-Plaza Isabelo Delos Reyes. In honor of another hero- the labor leader who co-organized the Aglipayan Church.

There stood the first monument to Andres Bonifacio in the early 1900's. It was built through the contributions of Manilenos before anyone can build a monument for the real hero of the Philippines.

It was a simple bust of Andres Bonifacio. It is a real monument built by the people for him. We gaze at him when we were young and hold him in awe. Until now, our respect for him never faltered. The "Great Plebeian".

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.  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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