12 Jun, 2008
Philippine Independence Day
Posted by teacherjulie @ 1:43 am
Shelved under About Town, Lessons in Life, My Thoughts, Philippines

Today, June 12, the country is celebrating its 110th Independence Day.

Much has been sacrificed to be able to achieve that freedom, more than a century ago.

We now ask ourselves? Have the blood that has been shed worth it all? Have the lives that have been sacrificed worth it all? Are we, the Filipino people worth dying for?

A while ago, I was writing the words of the national anthem in a PDA for my two younger children to sing and I was really anxious because I couldn’t remember two lines from the songs. When the words finally came to me, I realized how significant or maybe insignificant the words are:

“buhay ay langit sa piling mo”

“aming ligaya na pag may mang-aapi, ang mamatay nang dahil sa iyo.”

Beautiful land of love, oh land of light,
In thine embrace ’tis rapture to lie;
But it is glory ever when thou art wronged
For us thy sons to suffer and die.

Such wonderful words. But can we truly say that we truly enjoy living here in our country, amidst all chaos, corruption, crimes and all hostilities? Can we truly say that we are ready to suffer and die for the sake of not just the country but for other Filipinos?

Was it because I do not feel I agree with the words anymore so I have forgotten what these are? Or was it just a memory gap on my part. I hope not because when I tried really hard, the words came to me.

I hope I could instill in my children the love for this country sincerely. This nation that has been so challenged, again and again. I should do this now, because I can sense that they too, are disappointed and restless with some of the way things are.

Please click here for another Araw ng Kalayaan post that has photos. Here too for another post with photos.

These are the Filipino version and the English version of the national anthem.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 12th, 2008 at 1:43 am and is filed under About Town, Lessons in Life, My Thoughts, Philippines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Permalink | 8 Comments
12 Jun, 2008 @ 1:51 pm
Sexy Mom said:

i too asked the same question, I just hope to see the day when the Filipino is truly independent. I can say that we can only be free and liberated when our leaders have the welfare of the citizens foremost in their minds, when our government is totally free of corruption, when the Filipinos up to the grassroot level benefit from our government, when every Filipino is given the chance for a meaningful livelihood with roofs on their heads, when ordinary parents like me are able to serve enough food on the table, send the kids to school, enjoy medical benefits, and carry on with our lives feeling secure. It’s that simple, but with the current state our government is in, it is complicated.

anyway, happy independence day

13 Jun, 2008 @ 7:08 am
julie said:

Yun lang naman po ang gusto natin, put (nutritious and good) food on the table, send our children to school and not worry about medical expenses. The rest are just perks and extras.

Hay, we work hard, but it seems money is just like water, we can’t hold these in our hands, very dispensable.

Thanks po for the insight.

13 Jun, 2008 @ 12:11 pm
Desert Diva said:

Happy Independence Day! I hope conditions improve in your country and you all live in harmony and peace.

14 Jun, 2008 @ 12:19 am
annamanila said:

I feel bad and sad for our country. But it’s the only one I got. No american or european dream for me. So I just make the best of it. Try to make a difference in my little corner of Pinas.

14 Jun, 2008 @ 12:46 am
julie said:

Thanks DD :) We definitely need a lot of those, pace and harmony, and rice :D

14 Jun, 2008 @ 12:51 am
julie said:

AM, so true. We can only do so much, sometimes just enough lang for our family’s survival, instead of contributing to the good of our nature, parang survival of the fittest na lang tayo.I often hear people say that they don’t care much about laws, politics and other global concerns because they are too busy working hard to put food on the table.Sad din ano?

14 Jun, 2008 @ 9:54 am
manilenya said:

sa present situation ng pinas, I don’t think it’s all worth it..nasayang ang buhay ng maraming bayani at patuloy pang masasayang..sorry kung hindi makatugma sa pagtingin ng iba…

19 Jun, 2008 @ 9:42 pm
julie said:

melai, kami ay talagang sagad na ang pasensiya sa hirap ng buhay. If its any consolation hindi lang dito sa Pilipinas ang krisis, but then that is still not a reason to be happy. Tiis, tiis, yan ang isa sa importanteng magagawa.