Our aims; our duty [editorial]

Media

Part of The Republic

Title
Our aims; our duty [editorial]
Language
English
Year
1944
Rights
In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Fulltext
I Page 2 The Republic: Saturday, October 14, 19^ Wbr iRqjiiblir Editorial O OUR AIMS; OUR DUTY With the sole desire of acquainting our people with present day realities, a small group of Filipino private citizens decided to publish this modest weekly, The Republic, so that we Filipinos may know the facts of the situation, and may be accordingly guided in all our actions as citizens of the Philippine Republic and as loyal sons of our common and only Motherland—the Philippines. We believe it is the basic, fundamental duty of every good Filipino to defend and uphold the dignity and sovereignty of our own Government. Any action, attitude or mental disposition short of this prime patriotic duty is plain disloyalty and treason to our people, as a whole, and to the Filipinos, as individuals. We maintain that our love of country should not deprive us, as citizens of this Republic, of our fundamental right to criticize those measures and acts of the Government that we honestly believe are inimical to the best interests of our people. Precisely because we love our country above everything, we should not tolerate any act of commission or omission that directly or indirectly jeopardizes or may impair our common interests Or lllUUiaLl) jcupniuitvo v. —■ —---------------------------and ideals to maintain a government “of. by and for the Filipinos, alone and exclusively.” We hold that President Laurel is the highest legally constituted leader of the Filipino nation. As such, he should be completely respected, obeyed and loved by our people. He is the personal symbol of our national sovereignty and dignity as a people, and it is our duty to support him and to help him to the utmost of our capabilities, so that as the living symbol and the head of our Government and our people he may accomplish the lofty and patriotic aims to which he has consecrated his all. Happily for us, Divine Providence has never abandoned our people in the supreme critical hours of our history: Rizal and Del Pilar, with their sterling character, keen vision and deep insight guided us towards our destiny during the dark days of our first concerted efforts to erect the first pillars of our nationality. Bonifacio. Mabini and Aguinaldo, when the time for action and strife was imminent, became our men of destiny and guided our people towards the establishment of our First Republic. And now in these days of tremendous travails and defisive test of our manhood and our nati« , Providence - - - * ’ - " ’ - -ie , em. —a----- jr——n ......Vi- virtues, the leader to follow, the model to imitate it ,.ie midst of. per- \ haps, the most chaotic and disintegrated condition of our whole t political, economic and social fabric. ; ; We maintain, finally, that in the course of our history, our 1 three supreme achievements are marked by the following ‘ de£isive test of our manhood and ot _ ,ft.. — nf.'.t ■- hour—Jose ?■ La ageous, patriotic, unserfisi.-^ K-nrnrtA newal to readjust their ideals and objectives in accordance with the requirements of the new situation. They were required to secure certificates for the proper practice of their profession under certain definite conditions set by the government. The teaching of Philippine history was restricted to teachers who are Filipino citizens. The pattern of the ideal Filipino citizen was drawn from the character and achievements of Jose Rizal and the rest of the Filipino heroes who figured in all the libertarian struggles of the nation. The public school system covering elementary education was reorganized to conform to a lofty conception as the university of the masses. The youth of the nation were organized as the KAPARIZ to achieve the type of citizenship in the image of Rizal and other Philippine heroes. Part of the government’s program of reorientation of the people to the New Order was the creation of the Bureau of Oriental Culture whose main function is to give the Filipino people a new and increasing appreciation of native culture along with the common cultural heritage of the East. This bureau is charged with the responsibility of conducting systematic research in Filipino and Oriental cultures with a view to enabling the people to share their wealth in common. In line with the reorientation program, a committee was created to draft a Filipino Civic Code which would be the distillation of the people’s wisdom as inherited from previous generations and would serve as basic principles of living for the citizens of the Republic. Created to take care of the dissemination of information on the current activities of the Republic was the Board of Information. This Board was also to control, direct, supervise and coordinate all government agencies of public enlightenment in accordance with the new orientation. normal life and endeavor in their own communities. Special attention was given to the organization of health centers to look after the needs of the general population, especially the indigents. In urban centers especially, the government organized community kitchens in coordination with private initiative to provide free meals to the poor pending the arrival of better times. The bulk of the bed space in the Philippine General Hospital and other government hospitals was devoted to the accommodation of free patients as a means of alleviating the burden of medication for those least able to bear it. The government also directed its attention to the recruitment of scientists and encouraged them to devote their time to research in order to seek practical solutions to the urgent problems of health and nutrition. A Council of Scientists was organized and this was duly assigned to make a special study of these problems. Results of researches to improve the diet of the people through new substitutes as well as to provide medicines to take the place of imported medicines no longer available, were made available to th public through the Institute of Hygiene and the Board on Nutritional Research. The Improvement of the Race The watchword of the Republic in the face of stupendous difficulties created by the war was the maintenance and improvement of the health of the people. The system of drug control was instituted to regulate the distribution of medicines to the interest WaW-y of the victims of the war, wkethe: rjomerui- ; ui mt vivviiiio ui uie war, 1 widows and indigents. Much later, to render this service more steady and permanent, the Veterans’ Bureau was created. Homes to take care of convalescents were orLaurel Speech... (Continued from page 1) of Japan; His Excellency, the Highest Commander of the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines; His Excellency, the Highest Commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Philippines, and their respective staffs, will take their respective seats at the grandstand. (As soon as the arrival of these officials is announced, the public will rise.) PROGRAM OF THE CEREMONIES AT THE GRANDSTAND Laurel March—By the Constabulary Band. Entrance of His Excellency, the President of the Republic of the Philippines, the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Chairman of the Anniversary Committee, the Members of the Cabinet, and the Chairman of the Council of State and the Military Governor of Manila. Foreign Relations Simultaneously with the inauguration of the Republic of the Philippines, there was concluded a Pact of Alliance with Japan committing the Philippines to complete collaboration with the leader-nation along with the other members of the Co-Prosperity Sphere in an all-out effort to win the Greater East Asia War. Shortly afterwards, President Laurel, accompanied by Minister Recto and Minister Paredes, attended the Greater East Asia Congress in Tokyo at which was signed the five-point joint declaration constituting the Greater East Asia Charter of Liberty. The Philippines played host on separate occasions to Adipadi Ba Maw of Burma and Netahji Subhas Chandra Bose of Azad Hind. In both instances expressions were made of the close relations that should exist between the Philippines and Burma, and between the Philippines and liberated India. Invocation by the Most Reverend Cesar Ma. Guerrero, Auxiliary Bishop of Manila. 9:40 a. m. Salute to the Flag. One minute meditation and silent prayer for the heroes and martyrs of Philippine freedom and for the success of the Republic of the Philippines. Presentation of His Excellency, the President of the Republic of the Philippines, by the Chairman of the Anniversary Committee, Honorable Teofilo Sison, Minister of State for Home Affairs. 9:43 a. m. Address by His. Excellency, Jose P. Laurel, President of the RepubPhilippines anu iiueitu™ •-----tnree supreme achievements are marked by the following i „ ««iv<uescents were orepochs: first, the period of clarification and delineation of I Filipino nationality, which has produced Rizal, philosopher,__________________ _________ novelist and poet, who sang the virtues of our fatherland; second, that featured by an active organization of our manpower, producing Bonifacio, revolutionary leader and hero of the masses; and third, that of affirmation of our nationality and our duty to do our utmost to survive the present supreme test, giving us Laurel, jurist, statesman, symbol and personification of present-day Filipinism. The Republic on this, its initial day of existence, pays its: homage to our people, whose supreme interests and ideals will be its main guide, and to our national leader. President Laurel, as the beacon-light that guides all of us towards our goal in| these days of crucial test—the survival of our people and the consolidation of this, the Second Philippine Republic, estab-I lished in the midst of the most tempestuous and trying epoch I in our history. Home Workers’.. (Continued from page 1) Laurel Administration.. (Continued from page 1) ing of officers and soldiers proceeded on apace since. An appropriation of P3,000,000 was provided for a program of pacification. Discipline in the Constabulary force was insured with the creation of summary courts. In connection with the promotion of peace, the government proclaimed general amnesty for all political offenders and intransigent elements throughout the nation. In January, 1944, more than 100,000 guerrillas received the benefit of this proclamation. The government also proclaimed a period of grace of 120 days within which to deposit unlicensed firearms and ammunition with authorities in the provinces and municipalities without penalty of law. The Order of Tirad Pass was created by the government to give special awards to officers and men who lost or risked their lives in the performance of duty to preserve the Republic, in keeping with the proud traditions set by General Gregorio H. del Pilar in 1898. Fifteen men of the Constabulary received this decoration along with the posthumous award given to 1*100,000 was given to the Republic as a token of Free India’s intimate sympathy for the success of the Republic. Sometimes later, President Laurel presented the Indian National Army fighting in Burma with 2,000 mosquito nets as evidence of the Republic’s good wishes for the success of the Indian . National Army in liberating the mother land. In April, 1944, Speaker Aquino as envoy plenipotentiary and extraordinary headed a gratitude mission to Japan. His mission proceeded to Manchoukuo and was greatly impressed by the great cultural, economic and material progress achieved by that state. This mission brought home a deep impression of the preparedness of the Japanese Empire and the readiness of all its subjects to prosecute the war to a successful end. In July, 1944, a Burmese study mission headed by Dr. Ba Han visited Manila to gather data on the Republic of the Philippines and its efforts to meet the problems and contigencies of the emergency. The mission was the guest of the > Republic during its stay and every facility was offered to it to carry out its fact-finding mission: The Imperial Japanese Army in July of this year turned over to the Republic the ownership and management of 15 corporations taken by the Army during th occupation of the Philippines. This was in line with the Japanese Army’s policy of helping the Re- 1 public in so far as existing con ditions permit? j In line with the plans to faci- j litate the agricultural develop- i ment of the Philippines, the Phil- ( ippine Agricultural Survey Com- i mission to Taiwan was created to < make a close study of the progress ( made in Taiwan as a result of < Japanese technical initiative and s to seek appropriate application of f the results of the studies in the Philippines. f His Excellency, the President of the Republic of the Philippines, and other Officials and Guests will leave the grandstand. (The guests in the grandstand will rise and the public will remain standing until His Excellency, the President of the Republic of the Philippines, and other Officials and Guests shall have left.) Hundreds of unemployed women seeking gainful occupations flocked to the first unit, until today the association counts with nine units. ; Each of these units is specially engaged in the manufacture of certain foodstuffs, commodities and household articles for the local market. In the beginning, the members of the association received only a | nominal compensation of from 20 to 50 centavos a day. Today, the workers of the association receive a daily wage ranging from eight to ten pesos. The enthusiasm with which the consuming public has received the products of the as sociation has enabled the association to grant bonuses and dividends to its members and workers every three months. For the whole year of 1943, gross sales of the association amounted to P131.913.89. Between then and now, however, the association’s manufactures have gained considerable popularity. In the first quarter of the current year, gross sales amounted to almost 1*93,000. A slight increase in sales was registered in the second quarter, while in the third quarter, gross sales soared to four times that of the first quarter, or a total of P391,216.14. Profits increased along with the sales. Thus, the association was able to distribute dividends and bonuses again on October 5. More important than the matter of gross sales and profits, however, is the fact that the association has helped hundreds of women by giving them gainful work. . In the words of the association president, the Home Workers’ Association has saved hundreds of women from the temptation of : pursuing other callings in life less dignified, less respectable and possibly more taking to the health. 1 .1 General Del Pilar through his surviving sister. Education and Culture The government paid especial attention to the proper reorientation of the people to the changed and changing conditions under the emergency and in the New Order that is being evolved as a direct consequence of the Greater East Asia War. The basic theme in the reorientation of the people follows the philosophy that the welfare of the community transcends that of the individual and in all cases the individual should be willing even to sacrifice his own interests in the promotion of the common good. The new education was committed to the primacy of Filipino culture and traditions without ignoring the beneficial and positive contributions of other nations and races. To this end, the policy of enlightened nationalism was heavily stressed in all endeavors that had to do with the enlightenment of the people, starting from the schools. All teachers were required to go through a process of cultural reLegislation One notable defect in Philippine legislation inherited from previous regimes was the fact that Philippine laws were basically either of completely foreign inspiration or were no longer responsive to the , demands of the times as well as to the customs and character of the people. The President took a definite move to have our laws revised in order to effect the necessary changes required by the times and in accordance with the idiosyncracies of our people. The Code Committee entrusted with this delicate task received definite instructions from him on the philosophy that should govern their work especially with respect to the new Civil Code which is to be divided into five parts, namely General Principles, Persons and Family Relations, Property, Successions, Obligations 'and Contract. As a general rule the Code must keep pace with the advance of science in all fields. In Persons and Family Relations, the fundamental idea is to achieve solidification and integration of family life, preserving the paternal authority for the purpose of keeping the family life as an essential unit in the formation of the Filipino nation. As to Property, greater recognition is to be accorded to the supremacy of collective interests more than, the rights incidental to ownership, subordinating individual rights to the collective interests of the nation even to the extent of deprivation of property without compensation if and when necessary to uphold the far greater interests of the community. As to Obligations and Contracts, the tendency should be greater recognition and respect of the human personality rather than of the freedom of contract. With these fundamental principles laid down remains the completion within the shortest possible time of a Civil Code reffecting the customs, traditions and idiosyncracies of the Filipino people.