Ang Kalatas Volume V November 2014 Issue | Page 11

THE MESSAGE. BRINGING INTO FOCUS FILIPINO PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIA
www.kalatas.com.au | Volume 5 Number 2 | November 2014

ADOBO

EDITORIAL & OPINION

11

(A Dose of Brown Opinion)

Monuments, champions and respect!

M

onuments
are
expressions
of respect
to honour those for whom they were
erected. They are either big or
small in scale but always something that celebrates achievement and strength of spirit. They were built to inspi-

re and awe, motivate and uplift, arouse patriotism, intensify religious fervour and even
fire up artistic inclinations.
Others were erected to honour the dead.
Thus, among the graves
and tombs in cemeteries and
war memorials, we find the
collective expression of our respect for those who have gone
before us. November is especially marked in our calendars. As believers, we remember our dead on All Souls' Day;
and we commemorate Remembrance Day every 11th of
November to honour the memory of those who died in wars
past.
Monument building has
been practised through millennia. The ancients have built
Stonehenge. The Egyptians
built their pyramids, the Mesopotamians their ziggurats. The
Romans and other civilizations

built empires. The Ifugaos built
their terraces, the MesoAmericans built mountain cities, the
Chinese their Great Wall, and
so on. Each reign left an imprint
of their greatness. Everywhere
we go on this earth where there
was strong leadership, heroism
and a flourishing of the Arts we
find grand monuments that attest to achievement.
On a personal level, we
own houses and turn them into
homes. These serve as our family testaments. For those of us
who do not own houses, we
take comfort in the thought
that our personal monuments
are built in our hearts and in the
hearts of others who appreciate
the good we do.
On another scale, communities of today also build monuments. These could be a statue
to a national hero, a building to
house their cultural artefacts, an
edifice where they meet or wor-

ship, such as churches, temples
and mosques, or any manifestation that evokes honour, glory
and respect.
As for our Filipino-Australian community, we are still
awaiting the fruition of that
long-planned dream for a multipurpose structure that we can
call our own. It has been almost three decades, I think,
since the plans were first
drawn up.
But while we as a community have not yet built our concrete monument, we have built
goodwill that stretches across
cultural divides in Australia.
We stand as pillars and vanguards of a neo-multicultural society where many among
us, some prominent, but many
more as silent achievers, have
tore down walls and built
bridges.
Some have erected intangible towers, sans the boast-

ing, so that their achievements may bring pride to the
community. Recall our pioneer community leaders who
have become beacons and
who built the solid foundation
on which our present community stands. Think of leaders
who served with selfless leadership. More recently, think
Marlisa - whose victory in
X-Factor was carried on the
strength of her talent and the
collective voting support of
the Filipino community and
other supporters.
If we can further muster this
kind of cooperation in our com-

munity, then we can construct
our monuments, leave legacies for the future, and build
more community respect where
each one will be a winner. We
can even send the first Filipino-Australian to Federal parliament with our voting bloc.
Now, kababayan, which
community monument do
you aim to build? What kind
of community legacy do you
want to leave behind? I hope
each of us becomes a continuing positive factor, not an exfactor or ex-benefactor, in our
community and be champions
too.

DANNY DINGLE holds a degree
in Economics from San Sebastian College,
Manila, where he became the The Sebastinian’s
first editor-in-chief during martial law. He was
a Philippine govern-ment scholar to the UP
School of Econ-omics, Diliman, and Harvard
University, Cambridge, MA, USA.

PROCEED WITH CAUTION

Can Filipinos be saved from themselves?

I

WHY we must criticise the poor for voting corrupt candidates into public office.

know what you’re thinking: who am I to tell
poor Filipinos who to
vote for? If they want to
vote for a corrupt candidate, that is their right. Suffrage is a political right that
any voter can exercise according to his or her conscience. Yet nowadays, I argue that
many Filipinos just don’t seem
to appreciate this right. And
it pains me so much that they
waste away this opportunity to
make true social and economic
reform.
The same corrupt governors, mayors, congressmen
and women, and senators get
elected every time. Why?
From Cotabato, Iriga, Makati, Cavite … the same families
still rule these places. The Ampatuans, Alfelors, Binays, Revillas, and the Marcoses have
dominated the political landscape. The economic conditions on these places barely
improved. Income is pathetically low; jobs and infrastructure are still lacking so why do
they always get elected back
into office?
Perhaps the poor are too
afraid to speak up? The proliferation of guns and goons
has truly kept the masses in silence.
Perhaps it is the sense of

futility and helplessness? People are too tired to fight and
voice their rights knowing it
will only fall on deaf ears.
Perhaps poor Filipinos are
used to living in poverty? Lack
of education, coupled with
religious superstitions, has
molded a generation of poor
Filipinos too lazy to fight and
assert for their basic rights.
Perhaps Filipinos have not
truly seen the need for elections in the first place? Elections are purely cosmetic in the
Philippines. I remember voting in Australia for the first
time and I was disappointed.
There were no people handing
out money, no PPCRV, no flying voters, and no free lunch!
Remember, we have barely tasted independence from
Spain in 1898 when the Americans became our new colonial
masters. All this time, Filipinos never saw the importance
of the ballot, because we were
too busy trying to kick out the
colonisers.
On the other hand, people
in other countries have fought
and even died for this right.
In 1917 America, President
Woodrow Wilson encountered a few dozen women
suffragists protesting silently outs