Philippine Review

Media

Part of Philippine Review

Title: Philippine Review
Issue Date: Volume II (Issue No. 10) December 1944
Year: 1944
Language: English
Rights
extracted text: MISSING PAGE/PAGES EDITORIAL COMMENTS Not His Talent But His Character FOK THE LAST EIGHT AND FORTY YEARS, WE HAVE REMEMBERED Rizal, in June and December. On these occasions, we have extolled hs manysided talent and virtues. Every community had orators, poets, an- song^rs eag-r to pay tribute to “the Greatest Man the Malay Race ever produced.' Inousands of beauties have been crowned to honour this exceptional genius, who was p ysician, oculist, linguist, philosopher, poet, novelist, playwright, painter and wood carver, musician, fencer, scientific agriculturist, naturalist, mentor, crusaaer, natio nalist, patriot and martyr. Periodicals from time to time managed to uneartn an interesting anecdote or a piece of writing or thought by or about him to revea. his exceptional ability in this endeavour or that, and why he surpassed many men by nature and by training, and why because of his many-sided genius ne is a wor thy example to young and old alike.- Which, without doubt, he is. But somehow, so much attention has • been directed towards his personal abilities and the admirable facility with which he cultivated now interests and branched out into almost any activity in which, with little e..ort he im-’r, y excelled. . His private life and his secret loves were ventilated and worcrred a.. Who is the cdmirinq young or‘the credulous old who h&s not marvo:'.?o a ■■ a fantastic versions of the manner in which he fell, his heart picrcec by tne al.:n dominator's bullets? Perhaps through no-, fault of well-meaning hero-v/cr:’:;o->ers, Rp d s Le J.as become a rarity regarded with unreasoning admiration and curiosi,y, i.-, nue meaning all but lost to the generations most called upon to trans.a.e u.io'li mg reality thu ideals he lived and died for. In his people's fuller realrr.t;on or i.;S consuming passion for national dignity and self-respect, engendered in fi.e mm character and national solidarity cf the Filipinos, is Rival's greatness measured. True, we were not wanting in correlating some aspects of his moral and nafrioiic fervour to an occasional excitement or an attempt to stir up a lukewarm Fiiipinism; t Philippine Review December but.Jsince -the .shallow interests and exotic alien dislraciions of the past called ■flor> jifothing mere substantial than lip-service and even this was jradually lost in elaborate programmes of little civic value, we had to wait for a global v.ar to bring us the blessings of his restoration to the level of his true worth and stature. We massed R rial's meaning, net so much by a dullness of wit or deliberate intent, as by our insistence to measure his greatness n^pn terms of human cha racter but in terms of the natural gifts considered an# appreciated as private assets nece-sary to ind; iclnal success. Taken individually. and given the op portunity, the Filipino is the equal if not the better of other individuals else where in the world. And therein lies our strength and our weakness as a natiofV that the indi vidual Filipino can be superior but as a national unit weakened by the dearth of individual talents ready Io bury personal glsry and con.enienc& to the neces sary jolf-of-fac'.ment that ncd’onal ur.ily demands- In cur eagerness-to demonstinre individual aptitudes and to q’ory in their cultivation, we think not in terms of the honoui cr ihe di:ora‘<? which we c?st upon that sum-total of the com bined human vc’ricn and character wo call the Fi'ipino nation, but rather of our narrovy individud -self. We quite miss the pc’nt that had we been bom in s~me Fclyncsian aioli, we would not have been afforded the opportunities and the natural talent in which our nation and race have been favoured to excel, that we owe it all to the country that gave us bii m r?nd. of course, to a just God who has seen it in His infinite wisdom'to give us this land. Thus is Real's true worth lost in the individua'istic buy-and-sell man who bell'vos that the country h->d been made for him to do as he n’eased and that the fellow., who ere compelled by their principles to stay away from the fortunes of the black market ere unfortunate, dullards. He has forgotten that Rizal could have been a very rich man had he chosen to utilise bis abundant talent to satiate his capacity for personal wellbeing and the good life, that the Fact that Riial's character firmly attached the patriot to an uncompromising principle which led to his martyrdom, far from qualifying Rizal as an unfortunate dullard, confirmed his greatness’and held up this nation to the just admiral icn and respect of the whole world. Rizal dies in those of us who are lc«t in cur ego, who think more of what we can get in terms of personal wellbeing—abundant cash, loot, rice, privileges, bonuses, possessions and comforts procured in a manner which we hide even from ourselves, personal security, freedom from inconvenience, or the solicitude to live at any cost and under any circumstance. Rizal is worlds apart from us in that Rizal had character, which alone makes a man; and he had pr.r.ciples by which a true man always abides with all the strength of his character, no matter to what persona! misfortune his attachment to those principles may lead him. When his friends offered him a fake pass port with the wherewithal and the opportunity to escape the injustice of an im pending martyrdom, like Socrates of an earlier "day, our hero chided his wellmeaning friends for inducing him to run away like a guilty criminal, away from the only country and people he had learned to cherish and whom he must never abandon to their hapless fate. He accepted an unjust verdict and faced deafh with the Jov of one who is assured in h>$ heart that death woufd at last release him . from the narrow prison cell of individual self end take him away to the infinite and eternal felicity of an ever-fuhr;'!inq d^ethlessn'ss. and to crown with it his people and those of other climes and ages that might derive great rewards therefrom. ' . 1944 8 A Way of Life By BENJAMIN SALVOSA ATIONS ARE ONLY AS -strong as thex moral strength of their peoples. History is quite plain on this point. The leader who is to make his country rise above its. vicissitudes must grasp this basic fact. •The., new. Civic Code now awaiting approval at Malacanan, is therefore of far-reaching importance. An embodi ment of the best Filipino thought and philosophy, it is a document that' should mould the character of the na tion according to the ideals and tra ditions of the race. The Code is probably the most en during gift that the Republic can bes tow upon the people this Christmas. China achieved greatness and po wer when it founded a way of life, based upon love, loyalty, marital fidel ity, obedience and sincerity. * These precepts, modified' by Kung Fu-tze’s definitiqn of the superior man, pro bably reflect the highest fulfillment of the Chinese soul. The greatness of Japan was hewn :out of Bushidorthe Way of the War rior. Kudo; the Way of the Empe ror, drives the Japanese to deeds ctf heroism and loyalty. With Buddhism and Shintoism, which temper these two, they explain why the Japanese are determined in. battle and at the same time are inordinately fond of such gossamer things as painting and the tea ceremony. Courage, loyalty, obedience and truthfulness—the Code of the Spar tan—made possible the glory that was Greece, a glory that was torn by its roots when desire, for comfort made weaklings out of the Greeks afid hast ened their moral decay. The old vir tues—piety, modesty, courage, forti tude prudence, honesty and trust worthiness—were at‘the base of the grandeur that was Rome. The. Roman of Caesar’g time was a strong Roman; but the Roman that followed him was more concerned with material ease than with things of the spirit, and as a result he found his empire falling about' his ears. A nation’s greatness results from the desire -of its people to achieve greatness—results, iri short, from a man’s quest for perfection. Genera tions bequeath to those that succeed them the virtues that embody their highest moral development. If the heir proves worthy, .it contributes to this moral growth and makes it self greater than its predecessor; if weak, it drives itself on the lonely road to oblivion.. Keeping morally strong is diffi cult. The validity of moral princi ples is to a great extent affected by economic and social conditions.. Mo rality is in fact related to environ ment. A nation should therefore see that ts n;oral strength is not re duced no matter what the circum stances. and that it is not undermin ed by newfangled philosophies and ideas. Our public schools are committed to the da§k of bringing our youth to their fullest moral growth. That isonly proper; the youth not only suc ceed to the moral principle of their elders but,also to the work of shap 4 Philippine Review December ing the character of their sons. But classroom instruction on the virtues is not enough. There should be a Code —a Way of Life, if you please-^dedicated „to the task of giving a peo ple their own peculiar identity. That code should represent the distilled thought of a nation and should re flect its traditions. It should be a Way of Life that those of the pre sent would live and those of the fu ture carry on. II The new Civic Code was formulat ed by a Committee* created for that purpose by Administrative Order No.' 15 promulgated on February 12, 1944. It consists of four parts: the Precepts, the Quotations, the Anec dotal anc1 Explanatory Materials, and the Appendix. The first consists of the precepts for each of the 29 vir tues chosen; the second of selected ex tracts from the writing of 17. great Filipinos; the third of anecdotes that illustrate certain aspects of the char acter of these great men; and the fourth of Rizal’s Don’ts from the cons titution of the La Liga Filipina, the Duties of the Sons of the People by Eonifacio, the True Decalogue of Mabini, the aims of Any Bagong Katipunan. and the Code cf Ethics of thedefunct Commonwealth. The Committee explains in its letter of transmittal to the President that: In doing its work the Committee was guided by certain definite prin ciples, the better to comply with Your Excellency’s instructions. These principles are: 1. That not only those who are po pularly esteemed as national heroes, but those distinguished and illustrious Filipinos as well whose achievements and wisdom have made them worthy teachers of our people be included as sources of materials. This explains the inclusion of men like Francisco Balta zar, Modesto de Gastro. T. H. Pardo de Tavera, Cayetano Arellano, Rafael Palma, Teodoro M. Kalaw and others, in the list of those whose works the committee read and studied. 2. That although Administrative Order. No. 15 sets forth the virtues on which quotations were to be sought, the Committee would not limit itself tb these, but would add others whenever warranted by the quotations unearthed. 3. That, whenever possible, the quo tations be in the language in which they were originally written, the bet ter to permit faithful translations to be made subsequently into English and Tagalog. On the other hand, English would be used for the precepts, and English or Spanish for the anecdotal and explanatory materials. 4. That the Code emphasise the vir tues which make for collective rather than individual perfection, on the principle that~our people, strongly in clined as they already are to indivi dualistic ways, should be inured more and more to the discipline necessary for collective or communal living. 5. That the Code, while strongly na tionalistic in content, should also be sufficiently imbued with Ideals and as pirations of an international order so as to fit our people to live in the world and with the world. 6. That the Code, while recognising and giving due consideration to the present situation and predicament of the nation, should at the same time adhere to norms of thought and con duct that have timeless and universal validity. The • precepts avoid the use of the biblical “thou” and are grouped un der four heads; General, Social, In dividual, and Women. Those in the .first group are: 1. Have faith in Divine Providence that guides the destinies of men and nations. 2. Love your country faithfully, for it is the home of your people, the in heritance from your ancestors, and •Jaime C. de Vera, (Chairman), Salvador P. Lopez (Secretary), Mariano Vde los Santos, Encarnacion Alzona, Juan Colics. Jqa? D. Ingles, Jose Zi. Lansang. 1944 A Way of Life B the legacy to your descendants. Serve it loyally in any capacity however humble, and consider its defense as, your primary duty. Gladly sacrifice everything for it, even life itself, if necessary. 3. Love your fellowman as a bro ther and .companion in life’s journey. Brotherly love begets unity, strength, and happiness. Through loving-kind ness life’s hardships are easier borne, and its bounties more keenly enjoyed. 4. Honour ypur parents and serve them gratefully and dutifully. Res pect your elders and hearken to their counsel. 5. Venerate the memory of the na tion’s heroes by making their ideals your own- and your children’s. Their lives exemplify the best qualities of the race and their deeds have made the proud events of Philippine histo ry. Their achievements summarise the nation’s highest efforts and cons titute its everlasting inspiration. The precepts in the second group (Social): 1. Be industrious and do your work well. Work is not a curse but a blessing; be not ashamed to engage in productive toil however lowly. It is your duty to improve your heritage from your predecessors and to trans mit it to posterity in a better and more useful form. 2. Bevelop your faculties through study without departing from the path of virtue. Seek knowledge throughout the world that you may improve yourself and be better able to contribute to the progress of your country and of humanity. 3. Respect the law and the duly constituted authorities. The stabi lity of the state rests on tne respect of its citizens for law and authority. Without stability there can be no peace, morality or progress in any community. 4. Contribute to the common good as a matter of civic duty. You do not live for yourself or your family alone;- you have definite responsibi lities to the society of which you are a part. Social discipline requires that you subordinate personal inter est to the general welfare. 5. Strive always to be fair and just in your dealings with everybody. In the ideals of justice and right eousness lies the strength of na tions, and a people that firmly be lieves in justice cannot be deceived easily or oppressed for long. 6. Be tolerant of the ways, beliefs and opinions of others. Try to un derstand the points of view of those who differ with you. Welcome cri ticism because it helps you to see yourself as others see you, and thus, improve yourself. 7. Be ever vigilant against oppres sion or injustice in any form. It is your duty to denounce the exist ence of evil and the commission of crime, particularly the corruption of public officials, and to see to it that all wrong-doers are brought to justice. To condone evil instead of combating it is to fail in your first duty as a citizen. 8. Imitate good customs and prac tices. Reject bad examples. Always endeavour to equal, if not to excel, the best models in any field of activ ity, irrespective of nationality, race or creed. 9. Observe the rules of sportsman ship. In any contest be considerate of the feelings of your opponents. Tn victory be modest; in defeat goodnatured. 10. Treat everybody, high' or low, with courtesy. Good breeding is ma nifested through clean speech, proper dress, dignified bearing, and an amiable behaviour which consists in readiness to help and unwillingness to offend others. Good manners may not make the man but they reveal him. Those in the third group (Indivi dual) : s Philippine Review December 1. Value your honour as you value your life.; Poverty with honour is preferable to wealth with dishonour. 2. • Be truthful and sincere in word and action. Be tireless, openminded dnd thorough in the pursuit of truth; and in the fight for truth be constant, uncompromising, and brave. 3. Bear suffering with fortitude. More than anything else adversity re veals the true worth of a man. . A life of ease often weakens the will and pndermines the character; hard ship brings out the latent powers of body and soul. 4. Have confidence in yourself. Depend on your own efforts, never relying on the favour of friends or relatives, the charity of neighbours, and the paternalism of the govern ment. Develop initiative and original ity; do not be afraid to venture into new fields of enterprise. 5. Be humble. Acknowledge your own shortcomings; no human being is perfect. Self-improvement is im possible without humility. Learn from your past errors and avoid com mitting the same mistake twice. * 6. Temper your will and curb your passions. A long, happy, and useful life is the reward of modera tion and self-control. Only he who can master himself is worthy to lead others. 7. Live within your means and save for a rainy day. Avoid all forms of extravagance, pretense, and dis sipation. Refrain from getting irito debt, except it be for a wise or . use ful purpose. Thrift hads tc econo mic independence. 8. Ever keep in mind an honour able purpose as the goal of your striv ings, an then seek to realise it through positive action. Words, knowledge, and ideals are not enough to build a great nation; every man must endeavour through action to make himself a part of the edifice, instead of being like a useless stone, in the field. 9. Persevere in every useful un dertaking. Dp not be disheartened by difficulties nor dashed by failure. Success goes to the strong and reso lute. in spirit. 10. Do your work on time. Leave nothing undone , that you can do to day. Be punctual in your engage ments.. Failure to be punctual is a breach of courtesy and a waste oftime. 11. Keep your body clean, your clothes neat, and your home and sur roundings orderly. Cleanlinesses es-.sential to individual health and com munity welfare. 12. Learn to appreciate beauty in nature, art, and literature. Love of the beautiful has an elevating in fluence and ennobles the human spir it. ' The last group (Women): 1. Respect woman regardless of social rank. Regard her as a com panion and partaker of your joys and sorrows, and as ? partner in your as pirations and efforts to promote the public welfare. Respect for woman is a noble tradition of civilised peo- ' pies. 2. Filipino women: Bear in mind" your grave responsibilities to- the na tion. -Upon you depend in a large measure the wellbeing and happiness of your country. Cultivate your fa culties so that you may become pru dent, intelligent, and courageous \mothers who cab instill into the minds of your children the traditionalvirtues that enable a nation to sur vive and become great. These precepts embody virtues that are typically Filipino. As a matter of fact, they mirror Filipino tradi tion. . The lives of great Filipinos prove that they are-clcsely. woven in the fabric of our national life. Ill Faith in Divine Providence is an innate Filipino trait. Before the lan'ding of the Spaniards, the T< g i- ' logs had a God wHionb they caked 1944 A Way of Life Bathala. The Visayans called Him Laon, the Zambals Akasi. Historians declare that the Filipinos owe his faith in Divine Power to his fore bears in India and Sumatra. “Above the popular will and the egoism of nations,” . said Cayetano Arellano, “the predominance of race, and the Just of conquest, there is in the mighty current of human affairs a superior force which impels toward progress, and produces from time to time great men who execute the Divine *Will which regulates the uni versal harmony.” - - These words find recognition in the Constitution which requires key offi cials, from the President down, to take an oath of office wherein they invoke the aid of God. Churches* buildings and improvements used ex clusively for religious purposes are, by mandate of the Constitution, exempt from taxation. The state en courages religion as a means to mould a citizenry that will lead the good and abundant life. , Love of- country stands out in al most every page of our history. The roll of those-who raised the'banner of freedom begins with Lapu-Lapu who bested the conquistadors under Magellan in Mactan on April 27. 1521. The rest consists of glorious names. Rajah’ Soliman, Magat Salamat, Diego Silang, Gregorio del Pilar, 1 G"i''3-Taena, Riznl—He ist io ’ong. Rizal’s return to the Philippines in 1892, fraught with danger, was im pelled by a desire to “show those that deny us patriotism that we know how to die for duty and principle... Al ways I have loved our unhappy land, and...I am ready to, sacrifice for it, ..1 shall die blessing it and long ing for the dawn of its redemption.” The declaration of independence in Kawit on June 12, 1898, voiced the resolve to ‘'support... this declaration (with) our. lives, our fortunes, and ' pur most sacred possession, which is pur honour.” Love of fellow men, as bnoad as it is human, is an old Filipino traitin fact it "has “been expressed by even the most nationalistic Filipinos. Emi lio Jacinto, the Brain of the Revolu tion', put it thus: “Out of iove and .helpfulness for our fellows originate sincerity and charity—beautiful- flowers that bloom in the pure he^rt and balm for the unfortunate.” Bonifacio, fiery as he was, recog nised its importance. “Share with the poor an^ unfortunate whatever is in-your power to give.’* The typical Filipino viewpoint is that if one desires to command the respect of his -fellows, one must not be overbearing, because it is not that, but righteousness and. kindness that develop the love and respect of men. Respect for parents- is summarised by old saying'“Three friends has m^n. God, his Father, and his Mother. He who honours his parents honours God.” Yet, to the Filipino, that is not enough; he further modi fied it. He who loves his elders loves his neighbour, and he who loves his neighbour obeys God. The Filipino virtue of filial love is rooted in ancestor worship, practiced widely in the Philippines at the com ing of the Spaniards. -Feodor Jagor observes that “the authorithy of the parents and of. the eldest brother is supreme, and the younger sisters never venturing to oppose it, women and children are kindly treated.” Ramon Reyes Lala notes that there was “extreme family affection. They are very fond of their children, who, as a rule; are respectful and wellbehaved The , noisy hoodlums of European and .American cities are. utterly unknown.” So strong are ties in the Filipino family that the freedom at present enjoyed by women has not in any way reduced them. Filipinos are natural home lovers; and the teachings of the Catholic Churcli., which put emphasis on filial love and obedience, have but tressed family solidarity. 8 Philippine Review December The sons and daughters who are unmarried still live vvitli the parents and . give them their earnings. The mother remains,the family treasurer: aged and needy" relatives are well taken cage of. , Reverence for heroes constitute a part of a nation’s traditions. For a nation to be able to meet the chal lenge of the future, it must draw in spiration from its past. Our great heroes—Rizal, Bonifacio, Del Pilar, Lopez-Jaena—gave us our national identity through sacrifice and blood. Balintawak, Tirad Pass, Zapote Bridge, Kawit—these are not merely events in our history; they are monuments to the intrinsic woith of our people. Reverence for our heroes not only implies our appreciation for the part they played during the events of their time but also our willingness to meet the problems of our own genera tion with the same zeal and honour with which they did theh’s. Industry was the firm base upon which Jose Acosta built his fortune. “Work unceasingly,’’ he told his children, “for if a man does not work, the soil will only produce weeds and thorns.” The counsel is not new; it is almost classical But men are so often and so easily tempted to the ways of lazi ness that industry should be unceas ingly stressed. Interest in education makes for in tellectual enlightenment and personal and national progress. Jose Burgos expresses the need for education pungently: “Get educated. Use the schools of our country for a? much as they can give. Learn from our elder men what they know...Be a Filipino always, but an educated Filipino.” Education is intimately connected with the development of a nation in all itr phases. An enlightened people means an enlightened nation. An en lightened nation is nearly always a great nation. According to Tavera, “Rizal desired to go to Europe in order io educate himself, to become useful to his peo ple. He was not moved by the wish to have a good time and enjoy life.” Respect for law and authority— what does it amount to? Bonifacio’s answer is: “He who obeys the power conferred by the people obeys the peo ple and identifies himself with will of all tbe citizens that compose the people, which identification of accord is necessary for the very life of the neople.” Bonifacio saw that principle, as primordial. It had a relation w.'th the “life of the people,” and the Great Plebian insisted that the “welfare of the people is the sole purpose of all the governments on earth. The peo ple is all: blood and life, wealth and strength, all is the people.” Respect for law is vital to a nation because it makes for peace; and there ca.i be no progress except when there is neace. >■ Sense of duty and responsibility is paramount in the lives of men and nations. “Go out into the world,” said Villamor, '‘always faithful in the performance of your duties. There are a hundred men who prefer to be told their duties for every man who prefers to pose his duties, upon himself. Yet the world is moved by those who impose their cu ties upon themselves.” Justice and righteousness, practiced widely by Filipinos everywhere, en able men to see other men according to their just lights. They are a char acteristic of the heroes who made the proud events in Philippine history. Tolerance is summed *up by Tavera in this manner: “Criticism is the best teacher in the life of a man. It stimulates one to greater study and investigation.” Of tolerance, Rizal sajs: “We need criticism to keep us awake; it makes us see our mistakes so we can correct them.” It was Rival’s opinion. that “we should rely upon ourselves alone; 1944 A Way of Life 9 but should ask, listen to others, and then do what we think is'proper.” Civic courage, according to Rizal, makes a nation acquire respect, “not by abetting and concealing abuses, but by rebuking and punishing them.” The great propagandist Marcelo H. del Pilar held to the belief that all of one’s children, be they barrio- or citybred, educated or unschooled, should honour righteousness. Judicious imitation is vital to a na tion like ours, which ’ has to draw heavily from, the cultures of other peoples. According to Villamor, “Good or bad examples influence a man’s life in a great degree, as much for the better as for the worse... Use all your efforts for your better ment and perfection;. reject bad examples; you should imitate, even excel,-good models, but in doing this, you should not lose sight of the good customs and good exam; les that you have inherited from your fore fathers.” Rafael Palma believed that our instinct for imitation should distin guish between good and bad. The good and the false should not be 'emulated; neither the vices. One Should look for and assimilate the best practices and customs of other peoples. Sportsmanship is more than a mark of the educated man; t completely reveals him. One who is sportsman like is a modest victor and a good loser. Of sportsmanship, Modesto de Cas tro says: “If one should win, he should not show inordinate joy, but if a display of joy be inevitable it should be done in a manner that’will not hurt the loser...If one should lose, one should be careful to conceal every hint of sadness or anger.” Good breeding is reflected in the courteous man. Courtesy, says Villa mor, “gains all and costs nothing. This is a truth especially applicable to our country where everything can be obtained through politeness; that is, where the manner counts far more than strength. Oftentimes good words spoken with kindness convince better than good arguments uttered with arrogant petulance.” A Tagalog proverb affirms this view: “It is easy to be a man; diffi cult to be a gentleman.” Honour is mentioned in the sixth precept of the Katipunan Primer: “To a man of honour, his word is his oath.” This enlarges upon the words of the poet: “A good name is ratfier to be desired than great riches, andloving favour than silver and gold.” Of this virtue, Emilio Jacinto writes: “The real man is he who, of tried and trusty valour, does good, keeps his word, and is worthy and self-respecting.” Plaridel put it another way: “The value of one’s life can be measured only in terms of human service... Defend the right, happen what may, never fearing whether you win or lose, and your integrity will be upheld or maintained...” Devotion to truth was a gleaming facet of Rizal’s many-sided character. Tavera declares: “If he has not been a fervent dis ciple of truth, he would never have, had. . .beautifuL moral qualities... Self-control, constancy, firmness of opinion, for example, cannot exist un less one has first worshipped at the shrine of truth.” Once destroyed, a reputation for truth cannot be reestablished. An Ilocano proverb says: The word of a liar, though true, is never trusted.” One should, worship—not fear—the truth. Fortitude, like a chemical, reveals the moral composition of a man. “In persons of good disposition" said Villamor, “sufferings, temper their character and give rise to pro found and elevated thoughts. ..Some Filipinos, apparently useless and without resolution, when placed in some difficult and responsible posi1944 A Way of Life 11 should be a rule everywhere. “(It) is one of the first obligations of man,” says Tavera,, “not only when it is desired to observe the rules of politeness, but as one of the essen tial disciplines of. civilised life.” “Better' than the industrious,” notes a Tagalog proverb,, “is he who is eahly.'” \ 1 “ Cleanliness,” according to the biblical statement, “is next to god liness.” This is explained by the fact that man’s t body te a temple of God, and-it is man’s duty to keep the tem ple clean. The maxim,'however, is more prac tical, than one might suppose. Clean liness—both moral and physical— prevents disease and conserves life. Rizal recognised this truth. Sickly . when a boy, he developed, in later life, a strong and supple build. Appreciation of the beautiful—or, rather, the ability to enjoy the beaatiful, distinguishes man from the lower creations As Fernando Ma: Guerrero observes, “Life consists* not oii’y of ideas and knowledge. Life is also sensation, emotion, the vibration of th< soul, the ebernal thirst for beauty. . Not only with bread is man nourished. More often, what matter. of-fact persons qualify with dispar agement as visionary, romantic of utopian is the most feasible and ef fective means that stimulates tran scendental achievements in history.” Respect for-women has always been a mark of superior civilisations. Na tions that fail to give recognition to the importance to women in the scheme of living are generally stag nant and unprogressive. “Do not look upon women,” said Emilio Jacinto, “as a plaything, but as a friend and companion in life’s hardship.* Accord iulf respect to their weakness; remember your mother from whose womb you came and who nursed you as a Babe.” _ - Feminine virtues should be kept alive by a nation’s womanhood. As Modesto de Castro says, “A young woman should remember that though she may be beautiful and rich and can properly groom herself, if she does hot know how to keep house, she is valueless in the eyes of the wise; because woman is the keeper of the honour ’of the house, an honour that is destroyed by the untidy woman.” He continues: “A young woman should contemplate on the fact that her honour is like riches... that once destroyed can not be mended again, that once dropped can not again be picked up.' Like ' shining and clear crystal that, once broken,' cannot be made whole again.” The precepts—and the quotations behind them—of the new Civic Code embody the best Filipino thought, distilled and made pure. The virtues ‘emphasised in the Code" are character istically native. They should help make the Filipinos a great people’ and be as a rock upon which to build their spiritual edifice. No Pushoi >er— LT GEN. WALTER KRUEGER, Commander of the IL S. 6th Army in the. Leyte Ope.rati.vrm: The falks bae’: home are. unnng rf they think the Japanese figiiiir.g, the battle oh Leyte island me a pushover. 12 December “The Vision of a Great Example” By BENJAMIbf P. DIONISIO I T IS A QUIE1 MORNING ON December 30, 1896. The sun, lazily dispelling the mists, spreads its slow ly emerging rays over grass-carpeted Bagumbayan. The macabre stillness is pierced by a fusillade of rifle shots. A condemned patriot t finds peace at last in death and goes the long way of his ancestors to meet somewhere in that dim eternity the supreme Judge of all. That man whose memory lingers on in the hearts of friend and foe alike is the Filipi nos’ national hero. Time has marched swiftly since then. Forty-eight years in the reckon ing. Events that transpired after that December morn were to justify the faith and hopes of the Great Malayan. The revolution of 1896 held at bay the haughty oppressors of the race. The Republic, memor able and yet short-lived, was pro claimed to the world by Gen. Aguiraldo. The Americans came to the Philippines and against them our war-worn and ill-equipped soldiery continued the uneven struggle. We lost in the fight and had been under the United States until the outbreak of the war when Japan expelled her from our country. And now, America once egain seeks to reconquer our country in order to use her, not in self-defense or to uphold any high principle or ideal, but as the stepping stone to her imperialistic exploitation of East Asia. After two years of war, our busy buy-and-seil Rialto offers us intimate scenes of .the laxity and retrogres sion that is slowly undermining the secure foundations of our society. Vendors selling their wares at ex orbitant prices; idlers—young and old, schooled and unschooled—lolling about when the others have buckled down to constructive endeavour. If Dr. Jose Rizal were alive today would he not voice the same indigna tion as he had during his time over the moral lassitude df our people? Would he not vish to offer his life once more at Bagumbayan in order to stir his people from the downtrod den ways of crass individualism and selfish patriotism? His was a life richly and nobly lived—the life of a great man, of a creative genius, ('of a sincere patriot. In it are mirrored abundant instances of his creative zeal and indomitable will—examples which should put the present genera tion to shame. Even while he was engrossed in his studies abroad, he endeavoured to strengthen the fragile threads of Fi lipino nationalism. He despised in dividualism, believing that^ only understanding and common action among our people can save them from the evils of Spanish exploitation. Thus, on one occasion, he exploded: “So many intellects were lost in them selves for lack of union and because of excessive individualism. Each ohfc went his own way, paying no atten tion td diversions or strikes. There were no two beings alike. In the midst of- the bustle of the big city, 1944 'The Vision of a Great Example’ 12 and in view of the gradually decay ing state of the fatherland, we were like grains of sand in the whirlwind following a cab.” Besides writing his great novels, he organised several societies dedi cated to further his country’s pro gress. During the international ex position in Paris, he organised the paisanos who attended the event, and also laid the groundwork for the Associacion Internacional de Filipinistas with prominent European scho lars as active members. While in Hongkong, he conceived La Liga Fi lipino, which fostered compact unity, mutual defense, mutual protection, a progressive educational system, and benevolent reforms. Not only this. Ho laid out plans for a Filipino colo ny in Sandakan, a British territory southwest of Sulu, where he envision ed a haven for his oppressed country men. Many times during his extensive travels abroad he was at the point of marriage but, at the last moment, he would falter and then forget. There was Gertrude Beckett in Lon don, O-Sei-San in Japan, and Con suelo Ortiga y Rey in Madrid. Was he not human after all, ruled by the same passions, and dominated by the same pulsating heart? But to the great realist that he was, there was only one love—his oppressed and un fortunate Filipinos—for whom he was to make the supreme sacrifice. Love for the native soil meant every thing—indeed more than life itself— and anything that stood in its way was to be brushed aside, every herd ship to be suffered and endured, every difficulty to be hurdled that the goal may be attained and its fruits enjoyed. It is well to remember his words, eloquent then'and.yet still alive, with truth and directness today: “A good citizen will aid with his head, his heart, and if need be, with his hands the progress of his country.” This message finds resonance in the inaugural speeeh of President Jose P. Laurel: “There is need of awak ening -the moral consciousness of our people so that they may be able to face their new responsibilities with added vigoui* and enthusiasm* We should evolve a new type of citi zen who would be ready and willing to subordinate himself to the larger and more vital interests of the State.” The challenge of constructive work ■stands out ever prominently. Rizal 'accepted it, undaunted by fearful ’odds and unperturbed by the 'distracting illusions of everyday life. ,The challenge of death came, too; and this he £ould have ignored had he no other consideration than ^his individual welfare. But he feared nothing because he was selfless, his whole being was his people, his country; and if he died, he knew that death would kill only the nar row, mortal individual, while the great passion for the native land ^ould be enhanced by that transient accident of his martyrdom. True he fell without seeing the dawn of a new day, but truer still is'the fact that his people, inspired by his ’creative patriotism, have marched onward to capture their place in the sun. We are free, as he had dream,ed we should be; and we are at war, fighting to perpetuate that freedom. The “vision of a great example” should shame us out of our indivi dualism, our selfishness, our indeci sion in this moment of grave crisis. Shall we let the challenge go unan swered ? Philippine Review December tion, have shown strength of charac ter, ability, courage and abnegation which were never before seen in them. And it is because their trying experiences bring forth their latent virtues and re.v.eal their hidden qua lities. Francisco Baltazar writes of weak lings with disdain in his Plarante at Laura. A man used to a life of ease, he says, is sickly and weak of heart. He is not beaten by a problem, but by the mere contemplation of the dif ficulties of. the problem. Self-reliance shines in the life of Mabini. Success, as his life proves, is attainable if one develops self-re liance, though he be borh poor and is handicapped by physical infirmity. Through an unconquerable will, Ma bini rose above great odds to posi tions of command. He finished his law course with honours in spite of poverty; stricken with paralysis in his later years, he discharged his duty as prime and foreign minister of the Revolutionary Government with distinction. Teodoro M. Kalaw pays this tribute to Mabini: "Agree with me in that a great part of his life -was a life of poverty, of sufferings, of abnega tions... Mabini triumphed over his century, not only as a patriot and statesman, but as a man as well. Fate prosecuted him from his birth, and "he triumphed over Fate.” Humility, taught by all religions and all creeds, “tempers a man’s vir tues and makes him whole.” One must not, says Modesto de Cas tro, remember his worth, his know ledge, his beauty or goodness; one must never lose sight of his faults so that he can conquer his pride. Self-control, from the points' of view of Villamor, is essential be cause a "self-denying man is’ capable of performing the most noble deeds. Moderation and prudence in our acts are virtues which fit men to act com mendably in all phases of life ” He continues: "Moderation in the use of words is exceedingly import ant because . . . most of the disputes among men. arise from the use of of fensive language. The use of goed or bad expressions is full of signifi cance in life. Words and expressions contain the germs of good or evil that men transmit to their descendants even to the last generation..: ” Frugality was one of Mabini’s strongest virtues. In1 spite of the means for luxurious living that his high position in the Revolutionary Government afforded him, he re mained frugal, and simple. The famous jurist Cayetano S. Arellano, although he could well af ford to be extravagant in his lat?r years, remained simple and frugal to the end of his life. Purposeful living is summarised by Jose P. Laurel thus: "Purpose and attitude are all important. Without the will to work, industry degenerates into the drudgery of the slave; but blessed by the driving inspiration of a willing heart and' a duty-con scious mind, labour is the supreme means of self-fulfillment for the in dividual. It opens limitless fields wherein to give .his talents full play; it justifies his existence in this world.” . Perseverance had a supreme mo-' ment in Philippine history when' Plaridel declared "Let us not hesitate even if we must meet barriers and' thorns on the way. What are these little inconveniences compared to the - great misfortune of our country?” Of Rizal’s perseverance, Villamor says: "His difficulties and suffer ings stimulated (it), and the many obstacles which he encountered on his way stirred his energy and fortified his character. In this way he was able to complete his two literary books which gave him literary re nown.” Mabini had a phrase for persever ance—"constant endeavour and honest effort.” Punctuality is a rule in offices--it December In Memory of Masao Matsuoka By SUMIO MAKING One of the most sincere friends of the Filipino people was bland, patriarchal Masao Mat suoka, first president of «the Manila. Sinbun-sya. - On October 28 of this year, Mr. Matsuoka breathed his last in his home in Tokyo. Thousands— men of various nationalities—mourn ed his death. Even when death was near, he talked and listened to news about his beloved Philippines. The affable, understanding old mart of the Manila Sinbun-sya was well-known not only among his jour nalistic colleagues but also among Philippine leaders. He was a close personal friend of His , Excellency, President Jose P. Laurel. He was, in fact, a close friend of alL-artists, writers, businessmen, social workers. Quiet, soft-spoken and self-sacrificingly modest, he helped a good many Filipinos—talents that he called his proteges—freely and anonymously. That benign countenance of^ Mr. > Matsuoka is gone forever. I was one of his proteges, but I certainly was not alone in feeling profound. loss over his de'ath. A truly cultured man, he knew how to deal 'with all kinds of people. He made friends everywhere. He was a diplomat of goodwill, lending his support to na tionalistic causes, and going out of his way to give it freely. He was an active proponent of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, a cause he believed in at a very early age. He was something of a pioneer whose firm conviction that the Co-Prosperity Sphere would be.established remained unshaken un til .his death. I left my Manila assignment for Tokyo, in June of this year. Mr. Matsuoka had left earlier, due to ill■ ness. On arriving in Tokyo, I went to see Mr. Matsuoka. He was in ’ good spirits. - He talked about the Philippines a lot. He lived without showing any indication that he was a sick men. His condition was bet-, ter than I had expected. He listened with lively interest to matters per taining to the -Philippines. He dis cussed the international Situation with unusual insight. ( •But Mr. Matsuoka was not a healthy man He had had an attack of cerebral hemorrhage, and was waging a gallant battle against the illness. Then one day, on the. morn-ing of October 20, he had another attack He sank into a coma from which he- never recovered until he died. ..At 1:32 a m. on October 28, he started on the long journey from which no traveller returns. His last moments were quiet. 'In •death, his face lost none of its benign . cast, although it looked a trifle thin ner for his illness. Death took him at a time when the Greater East Asia War was entering a decisive stage. His friends kept vigil over his dead body. On this occasion, one of his old friends remarked reverently: “Mr.' Matsuoka’s interest in the Philippines dates back to his college days.” I know, for I heard him say once: “Asa child, I heard from my father that there Was a Filipino general named 1944 In Memory or Masao Matsuoka 15 Aguinaldo. Despite the fact that the Americans had put' a price on his head, this Filipino, general bravely presented himself to the American authorities. .1 know then, and thought, that General Aguinaldo must be a very brave man.” His interest in the Philippine affairs increased as a student at the University of Keio from which he was’graduated. Shortly after Mr. Matsuoka’s gra duation from this college, he became an official with the government gen eral of Taiwan. When his govern ment commissioned him to make a trip to the Philippines, he left imme diately. In Manila, he made friends with Teodoro M. Kalaw, then Direc tor of the National Library, and Dr. Mariano Ponce. His assignment took him farther .to the southern regions, and then to North and South Amer ica and, finally, to Europe. His tra vels did not deflect his interest in the southern regions of Asia. He was particularly interested in the af fairs and in the future of the Philip pines. In Tokyo, Mr. Matsuoka forged an early friendship with General Artemio Ricarte, and extended help to maiy Finpino refugees in the Jap anese capital. He took part in frank, sympathetic discussions of the Philip pines and ci the role the Philippines would play in’ Greater Last Asia. The late Mr. Matsuoka’s specialty, was colonial policies. . An authority on the subject, he gave lectures at the Um\ ci .ly of Keio, and the Univ ersity of Commerce of Tokyo. Schol ars and students know him for the authoritative books he wrote on his favourite subject of colonial policies. When the Manila Sinbun-sya was organised early in 1942, Mr. Masao Matsuoka was chosen to serve as its first president. He was then sixtythree. He stayed in the Philippines for one year and three months. Dur ing that'short period, he made last ing friendships with his colleagues, government officials, statesmen, ar tists, writers, and the common folk. He had cordial relations with his great and good, friend, President Jose P. Laurel. In the Manila Sinbun-sya he found stimulation ^nd comradeship in the company of Don Pedro. Aunario and Don Alejandro Roces. With these distinguished confreres, he ex changed opinions most frankly and without reserve on the present state of Nippon-Filipino relationship, and its future. An idea of the late Mr. Matsuoka was that there , could be no politics worth its salt- unless it had love for its basis. This he. demonstrated dur ing his stay in.the Philippines. He understood the social customs and traditions of Filipinos, and observed them accordingly., He was a student of Tagalog, and Wanted to look like a Filipino by wearing a barong Ta galog. President. Matsuoka was intensely interested in promoting and raising the standards of Philippine music. He lent active support to artists, and actually initiated the holding of a mu sical concourse for the leading, talents of the land. First prize-winner in this. contest was the young pianist, Angelina Reyes., A significant story is related about President Matsuoka’s seeing Miss Reyes in his sleep one afternoon at the Nippon Hospital. Mr. Matsuoka had just undergone an operation for nasal catarrh. In his sleep that afternoon, he saw the mu sical prodigy in a blue dress. In his dream, he looked more closely at his girl-visitor’s .wrist for the watch that had been given to her as a gift by a Japanese official. At that very mo ment, Angelina 'Reyes succumbed to «a fatal attack_ in the midst of a gruelling rehearsal. Nippon Hospital doctors were on their way baek from the Nippon Bunka Kaikan, where the accident occurred, while Mr. Mat suoka was telling his story of the dream in which he saw young Ange lina. 16 Philippine Review December This story can not be taken lightly. It is significant because it shows President Matsuoka’s abiding con cern for his Filipino friends. He was a great inspire!’, an unselfish friend, a sympathetic Jiatron of the arts. He was one of the first persons to suggest the setting of an early date for the granting of independence to the Philippines by Japan. He sin cerely believed in early Philippine par ticipation in the Greater ECast Asia War. When the Philippines entered the war in September, he was so overjoyed he muttered from his sick bed: “Very good, very good'!” accord ing to members of his family. He maintained constant contact with Am bassador Vargas in Tokyo, and kept tab of everything that had a bearing on the progress of Philippine parti cipation in the Greater East Asia War. Whep he heard about Japan’s victory in Taiwan, and in the waters east of the Philippines, he tried to ex press his thoughts in writing. He raised his hand and asked for pencil and paper. But he was too weak to say or write anything. On October 31, funeral sendees were held in his honour. Hundreds of distinguished persons, both Japanese and Filipino, attended the service. Ambassador Vargas was present at the ceremonies. Telegrams and letters from distant places poured in, condoling with Mr. Matsuoka’s bereaved family. Posterity will remember that one last wish of President Masao Mat suoka was to have half of his ashes buried in Manila, and the other half in his own Fatherland. President Matsuoka is gone, but his ashes which lie in a tomb that stands nobly in Philippine earth will forever remain a symbol of a great friendship be tween one of Japan’s truly great men and the Filipino people. Pledge^ GENERAL YAMASITA, Highest Commander of the ln{perial Japanese Army in the Philippines: I wish to assure you one and all that my mission of defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of this country will be fulfilled even at the sacrifice of my. own life. I wish to pledgee my word of honour—and the word of honour of a- soldier of .Japan is definitive and irrevocable— that my mission here is to assist this new-born Republic which has just ceUbrated its first anniversary to grow un molested. by any force and from any source into a strong virile nationhood. 1944 17 “Fair Hope” in Action By RAFAEL ALDANESE BOUT FOUR CENTURIES AGO, the Kalawaan Region assumed ascendance in Tagalan affairs and it held -sway over almost the whole of Central Lusong with an orbit of in fluence extending from Pang-asinan in the north to Borneo tnd Sarawak in the south. The key to the secret of this as cendance in power was the unity be tween two powerful rajahships, that of Raha Lakanduia in Tundo and that of Raha Sulfman in Maynila. These two so achieved the consolida tion of their .strength that their names became synonymous to power in their times, and they achieved through their efforts what may now be considered as the Confederation of Kalawaan. These two titans of long ago, how ever, presented a striking contrast. Luna L-akanc^ula w„ > in years and famed for his exploits as fleet admiral of Borneo and con queror of Sarawak prior to his as sumption,of the rajahship of Tundo. He symbolised age. with its wisdom and counsel. <And therefore, the peo ple revered him and called him Raha Matanda, the “elder rajah”. On the other hand, Raha Suliman was young and the blood of his an cestor-warriors coursed like fire through his veins. His was the glory of actual combats and con quests. His was the strength of youth with its vigour and adven turousness. Hia wag a spirit of action and dehant pri&e of race. And the people revered hiib and called him Raha Mura, . the ' “younger rajah.” Upon the advent, of the Adelantado of conquering Spain and upon sight of .the imposing array of Hispania’s mighty flotilla on the horizon af Maynila Bay, Raha Suliman, the “younger rajah”, burnt his proud city of Maynila in his plan to con solidate resistance on the shores of Tundo. On the other hand, because of con siderations priorly acquired" and be cause of the display of might of Hispania’s flotilla, Raha Lakanduia counseled non-resistance, peace, and he led zhis chieftains in welcoming the Spaniards and concluded a blood pact of peace and friendship. The proud young blood of Raha Suliman recalled the abuses one year before committed by Marshal de Goiti and his men,, and- forth-with he went to Bulakan ahd Kapangpangan to raise his Tagalan fleet. On the 3rd of June, 1571, the younger rajah’s Tagalan fleet swept down the north shore of Maynila Bay in battle array in, all thfe pride of pennants and arms. It was a glo rious sight, assertive of the great ness of the Tagalan race. Cour ageously, defiantly, the war-boats moved towards the channel of Bangkusay where the fleet of Marshal de 16 Philippine Review December This story can not be taken lightly. It is significant because it shows President Matruoka’s abiding con cern for his Filipino friends. He was a great inspire?, an unselfish friend, a sympathetic patron of the arts. He was one of the first persons to suggest the setting of an early date for the granting of independence to the Philippines bjT Japan. He sin cerely believed in early Philippine par ticipation in the Greater East Asia War. When the Philippines entered the war in September, he was so overjoyed he muttered from his sick bed: “Very good, very good'!” accord ing to members of his family. He maintained constant contact with Am bassador Vargas in Tokyo, and kept tab of everything that had a bearing on the progress of Philippine parti cipation in the Greater East Asia War. ' ' Whep he heard about Japan’s victory in Taiwan, and in the waters east of the Philippines, he tried to ex press his thoughts in writing. He raised his hand and asked for pencil and paper. But he was too weak to say or write anything. On October 31, funeral services were held in his honour. Hundreds of distinguished persons, both Japanese and Filipino, attended the service. Ambassador’ Vargas was present at the ceremonies. Telegrams and letters from distant places poured in, condoling with Mr. Matsuoka's bereaved family. Posterity will remember that one last wish of President Masao Matsuoka was to have half of his ashes buried in Manila, and the other half in his own Fatherland. President Matsuoka is' gone, but his ashes which lie in a tomb that stands nobly in Philippine earth will forever remain a symbol of a great friendship be tween one of Japan’s truly great men and the Filipino people. Pledge^ GENERAL YAMASITA, Highest Commander of the Im perial Japanese Army in the Philippines: I wish to assure you one and all that my mission of defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of this country will be fulfilled even at the sacrifice of my own life. I wish to pledg’e my . word of honour—and the word of honour of a soldier of .Japan is definitive and irrevocable— that my mission here is to assist this new-born Republic which has lust cebirated its first anniversary to grow un molested. by any force and from any source into a strong virile nationhood. 3944 17 “Fair Hope1' in Action By RAFAEL ALDANESE A. ROUT FOUR CENTURIES AGO, the Kalawaan Region assumed ascendance in Tagalan affairs and it held -sway over almost the whole of Central Lusong with an orbit of in fluence extending from Pang-asinan in the north to Borneo tiid Sarawak in the south. The key to the secret of +his as cendance in power was the unity be tween two powerful rajahships, that of Raha Lakanduia in Tundo and that of Raha Suliman in Maynila. These two so achieved the consolida tion of their strength that their names became synonymous to power in their times, and they achieved through their efforts what may now be considered as the Confederation or Kalawaan. These two titans of long ago, how ever, presented a striking contrast. A-.aiiu cakancv-ila wa.-, > in years and famed for his exploits as fleet admiral of Borneo and con queror of Sarawak prior to his as sumption of the rajahship of Tundo. He symbolised age with its wisdom and counsel. -And therefore, the peo ple revered him and called him Raha Matanda, the “elder rajah’’. On the other hand, Raha Suliman was young and the blood of his an cestor-warriors coursed like fire through his veins. His was the glory of actual combats and con quests. His was the strength of youth with its vigour and adven turousness. Hia was a spirit of action and dehant priile of race. And the people revered hnh. and called him Raha Mura, . the ' “younger rajah.” Upon the advent of the Adelantado of conquering Spain and upon sight of the imposing array of Hispania’s mighty flotilla on the horizon af Maynila Bay, Raha Suliman, the “younger rajah”, burnt his proud city of Maynila in his plan to con solidate resistance on the shores of Tundo. On the other hand, because of con siderations priorly acquired' and be cause of the display of might of Hispania’s flotilla, Raha Lakandula counseled non-resistance, peace, and he led zhis chieftains in welcoming the Spaniards and concluded a blood pact of peace and friendship. The proud young blood of Raha Suliman recalled the abuses one year before committed by Marshal de Goiti and his men,, and- forth-with he went to Bulakan and Kapangpangan to raise his Tagalan fleet. On the Sri of June, 1571, the younger rajah’s Tagalan fleet swept down the north shore of Maynila Bay in battle array in, all thfe pride of pennants and arms. It was a glo rious sight, assertive of the great ness of the Tagalan race. Cour ageously, defiantly, the war-boais moved towards the channel of Bangkusay where the fleet of Marshal de 18 Philippine Review December Qoiti was waiting with, the mighty cannons of Spain, tlie best produced by Europe at the time. In the unevenness of weapons where hastily wrought lantakis were pitted against well-tempered cannons, where the preparation of three months was pitted against the preparation of an entire year, the gallant Tagalog arms clashed with the arms of Spain, and in the thickness of the bloody struggle on Bangkusay, Raha Suliman, true soldier and true Tagalog, died in the midst of gallant men. Raha Sulimfen died in that fray, . but his spirit of resistance against the .Occidental inyader perdures unto this day. ’it found resurrection when the elder Lakanduia himself hied to Nabutas to assert the rights of his land. It again found resur rection in the revolt- of Kapangpangan and in the Conspiracy of Tundo. Again and still again that young, valiant spirit fought' for Tagala in Kagayan and Ilu-ok in 1589, with Magalat in 1596, with the Igurots in 1601, iwitb Gadahg. in 1621, with Bangkaw and with Tambulot in 1622, again in Kagayan in 1625, in Karaga in 1630, with Layda, with Sumoroy, with Manyago, with Malog with Tapad, with Daguhoy, and so on down the centuries to the mutiny in ' Kabite in 1872 and the Revolt in 1896. Raha Suliman died but the spirit of his struggle against Spa nish dominance, the'assertion of the greatness of Tagalan arms and the • right to freedom of the Tagalan race ' will never, never dib. Almost four centuries after, Ta gala’ is faced once more with a similar definition of stand. Once more the choice is presented to the Tagalng race, the choice between a wavering stand of ai ^generation fast growing passe and the fiery decision of the young. Wither should our country go? Shall it be with the elders who, because 'of prior con siderations even as in the case of Lakanduia, refused the courageous action of a definite step for the de fense of the East against the attacks and onslaughts of the West? Shall it be with the young who, against counsel and prudence perhaps, desire a total union with the East in order to forge a new future of freedom for peoples long oppressed and ex ploited by adventurers from other regions of the world? We, who form the “New Leaders Association”,, we are young and we have blood of fire and adventure and hope. Our Choice is. definitely for the “young” of this era, the young Republic of the Philippines as against the 'old artificial set up established by "America. We have categorically stated in cur Articles of Association our aim3 and purposes; “To collaborate with similar or ganisations in •< other East Asian countries, so that the people vf Asia may a'ctually participate in all-out efforts to win the present war and the-'nqft-Ar to establish the Co-Prosperity Sphere based upon the pre cepts ennunciated in the Joint Declarat;on -adonted by the represen tatives of all the East Asian nations.’* These spirit and philosophy we c- ^gorically stated in our Manifesto: “We believe that Providence has so set our Country that we are in evitably linked in destiny with the other nations of the East,- and there fore, it behooves us to work with the nations of the East for the peace and happiness of our people.” ’’ Towards this end we will work’ for the solidity, and advancement of the Republic of the Philippines, never forgetting in view that first principle in our Octalogue embodied' in our Manifesto, that: “We believe in a free and indepen dent Motherland, great in her his tory in the past, great in he r slnu-rle in the. present and great in her destiny in the future.” 1944 "Fair Horta" m ActtOR H With these two major principles, we are calling on the rest of the youth of our country to join hands with us in this march to the New Day foi the East. We are calling on the youth to accept this challenge to their blood of fire. We address those whom Rizal so endearingly referred to as the “fair hope of my fatherland.” If we fail? It does hot matter. ,*l*he blood of Suliman was shed on Bangkusay and his proud Tagalan fleet failed in their mission to crush’ -the flotilla of Spain but his spirit triumphed down the centuries unto this day, and his challenge handed down to the youth of our era is here by accepted by the “New Leaders Association”. We are now asking the youth of ' u’ country to rail. *vith us in our acutance of this challenge. To achieve dur goal of “Freedom for our Country” and “Collaboration with the East”, yze are now mapping -out plans whereby we could support more effectively the Republic of the Philippines. » We have set out objectives, the first one of which is the voluntary offer of services orr our part to the R.. aolic Gf the Philippines so that we may be able \o help distribute foodstuffs to the people who are now, because of the heartlessness of corrupt officials and “suwapangs” of the road, because of the selfishness and indifference of the greater bulk of oui* people, because of the greed and egoism of a few heartless mer cenaries, our people are now' suffer ing from hunger and starvation. That there is a<lack of surely of foodstuffs, we do not deny, but that lack of supply does not warrant the starving conditions and at most, only a state of war frugality which shall carry us through the vicis situdes of this emergency .\ Because of heartless nioney-mad food distributors and retailers, the little supply that there is, fails to reach the smallest homes, and in order to be a bridge whereby these supplies may reach the smallest homes, the “New Leaders Associa tion” hereby volunteer to give their servi’ces to the Republic of the Phil ippines, willing to distribute the foodstuffs to the people without in terest or gain. We are very happy in the encour agement given to- us by the- authori ties of the government of the Re public of the Philippines as also' by the Imperial Japanese Army. .. With their help, we look forward to fulfilling this ardent desire to serve, thus achieving Objective Number One' of the “New Leaders Associa tion,” namely the distribution of food stuffs to the people. We of the “New Leaders As sociation” have faith in the arms of -the great Japanese nation and we know fully well that Japan can take care of the enemies from without. We, the youngNwill cope with\the hattie within, against the enemies that prey on the peoples’ needs, against the brothers who drink and spill the blood of their own brothers. With the help of our elders, our fathers in the government of the Republic of the Philippines and aril, brother East Asians who are with us in a common aspiration to be free from invaders and dominators from' other spheres, we hope to be of ser vice to our people for the greater glory of our country. 20 December Some Achievements of Our Republic * By JACINTO R. DE LEON T HE RE PUBLIC- 0 F THE Philippines may be likened to an in fant born in parlous days and, pro bably, a little before its time. The birth of che Republic caused no small consternation in the household, as it were, what with the. general confusion caused by the greatest war that has visited mankind. On-October 14, 1943, the Republic of uhe Philippines was established and inaugurated with simple ceremo nies at the Legislative Building in the City of Manila. The granting of sdch independence was, of course, considered a boon and a historic event in the life of our race. But cur Re public was ushered in the midst of tumult and dangers, and has had to face multifarious problems unusually difficult to solve. In his inaugural address: *• His Excellency, President Jose P. Laurel of the Republic of t’£ Philippines did not hesitate to reveal to the Filipino people his plans in connexion with the program of his administration. This program is based on the patriotic concept of An dres Bonifacio that “the welfare of the people is the sole purpose of all governments on earth.” President Laurel mentioned, among * other xhings, the importance of main taining peace and order as our first duty; tilling our idle lands- improv ing and diversifying our crops; developing our fisheries; multiplying our livestock, dairy and pou’try farms: producing the necessities of civilised life,—in other word-., econo mic sufficiency; looking after the wellbeing of the poorer elements . constituting our masses; increasing the salaries and wages of employees and laborers; giving relief to the needy and suffering, particularly to war widows and orphans; evolving a new type of ci'izenry; reviving our old-tinie virtues as Orientals; instil ling honesty and loyalty in the minds of our public officers and employees: preparing our youth early for useful citizenship, providing compulsory and free instruction for all children of school age, and training them for ri gid discipline; forging and riveting the links of family solidarity; restor ing womanhood to its proper sphere in the home; developing and disse minating the national language; pre serving health and propagating intel ligence; and abolishing political pari ties. 1. Peace and Order. The fore most problem of the government in any clime is the maintenance of peace and order. This is important, be cause should there be disorders and disturbances, the public mind is in a state of confusion. The people neg lect to tackle the ordinary problems of life-?and the development of na tural resources,- such as the cultiva tion of lands; likewise, they neglect to promote commerce and industry; all of which would gradually but surely lead the country to untold suf ferings and starvation. Undoubtedly, any disorder would be inimical to the ■healthy growth of the Republic. We * The Tpr-’ns originll of this article wen the Pfr.000 prize in the Republic Anniversary Con test sponsored by the Board of Information. 1944 Some Achievements of OUr Republic HL could imagine the difficulties which the government should encounter to suppress troubles arising from the current war. The reinforcement of the Bureau of Constabulary was, therefore, felt necessary in order to have sufficient force to face any emergency. As one of the initial steps, president Laurel issued Procla mation No. 2, dated October 14, 1943, granting general amnesty and pardon for crimes and offenses of political nature, like sedition, organising un lawful association, leading or joining the guerillas, etc.-committed by Fili pinos. Again, on January 17, 1944, Proclamation No. 11 was issued, de signating the period from January 19 to 25, 1944 as “Amnesty Week’’, and at the same time, appealing to the public for cooperation in the attain ment of the desired end of such movement. According to offical re port, a total r>f 89,459 gucidleros surrendered up to February 4; and 100,594 guerilleros surrendered in Mindanao up to February 8, 1944. In the meantime, the government ac commodated or otherwise gave em ployment to the Filipino members of the USAFFE who had surrendered. Qn the other hand, in its desire to continue its program of maintaining peace and order, the administration issued Executive Order No. 40 on March 27, 1944, authorising the sale of bonds in the sum of P100,000.000 pursuant to the provisions of Act No. 18 which was approved on December 28, 1943. Aside from this, Executive Order No. 64 was issued under the provisions of A_ct No. 35 appropriat ing the sum of P3,000,000 for pur poses of pacification, including the payment of rewards for the surren der of firearms, weapons and other military equipment. The result of the peace campaign has, on the whole, been quite satis factory. If may be said at this junc ture that through the untiring efforts of the administration, peace and or der—although not altogether com plete—have prevailed throughout the Philippines. 2. Agriculture. It is of common knowledge that even during the seemingly prosperous years of the Commonwealth regime, the Philip pines had to import large quantities of rice and other foodstuffs like meat, eggs, vegetables, canned foods, etc. During this time when the East and the West are engaged in a total war; it is not surprising that we should suffer a shortage in food supply. It was for this reason that from the very beginning, the government urged all citizens to redouble their efforts to till idle lands and plant not only palay but also corn, camote, cas sava, vegetables and other foodstuffs. The war not having ceased until and after the inauguration of the Re public of the Philippines, so the food and other economic problems of the country became more and more acute and serious every day and continue to be so up to this time. Nor did the present administration neglect to do its duty. As early as October 29. ‘1943, the President appealed to the people to cultivate all available lands and issued Proclamation No. 3 desig nating November 19 of each year as “Farmers’ Day”. In line with the policy of the Republic, the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources did its best to persuade the inhabit ants in every nook and corner of the Philippines to increase production to forestall impending crisis in food. As a result, it was reported on June 10. 1944 that in Luzon 103,307 hectares of land were planted to corn, camote and cassava, while the Visayas and the provinces around and adjacent to Manila were making remarkable pro gress in food production. In connexion with this nation-wide campaign, Act No. 14 was passed, penalising any person for the injury of carabaos and cattle to render them unfit for labor. A_ct No. 46 provides the sum of P2,000,000 for irrigation system funds. Moreover, the President created the “Philippine Agricultural Commission 22 Philippine Review December to Taiwan” to study ways and means by which to increase our rice produc tion, etc. 8. Economic Problems. If it is hard to maintain peace and order dur ing emergency, it is no less difficult if not much harder, to cope with the economic probleiris of our country nowadays. Firstly, because we were 'not self-sufficient even before the outbreak of the current war. Sec ondly, economic dislocation and dis orders are but the natural concomit ants of war, and daily events can neither be determined nor presaged. The present-war developed monetary inflation; this in turn invaded the market. The “buy and sell” business came into being and prospered quick ly; prices of commodities scared sky ward. Eventually, planting was in some way neglected; food production suffered thereby. So foodstuffs be came scarce and dear. Clothing ma terials arid other prime commodities could not longer be had as usual. Consequently, when the National As sembly first met last year, a special committee otherwise known -as the “Vamenta Committee” was created to probe the causes of the alarming in creases of prices of foodstuffs arid other necessities. The President re commended the enactment of a law which would remedy the shortage of food supply .and disruption of trans portation facilities? Administrative Order No. 9 was issued, urging the cultivation of public plazas, sidewalks, grounds, etc. On December 3, 1943, President Laurel appointed Jose G. Sanvictores as Food Administrator, after approving the bill creating the n- w Food Administration office to, solve food problems of the country. In the meantime, the Imperial Jap anese Army in the Philippines made a loan, of 20,000 sacks of rice to the Philippine government and then gave 25,000 sacks of rice as a gift to the Republic. The Naric was dissolved on Decernber '31. 1943, and in its stead, the Bigasang Bayan or Biba was created. The latter, cont’nu d the distribution of rice, although the quantity was diminished little by lit tle until such distribution stopped finally. The government has been taking all the necessary steps to avprt possible starvation, especially in Ma nila. . In this connexion, the Presi dent said at the gathering'of City officials and NA presidents held at the City Hall on January 5, 1944 that his administration was determined to provide for the adequate and equit able distribution of foodstuffs throughout the country, particularly in Manila. On January 7, 1944, the government authorised the release of the sum of P2,400,000 for the pur chase of palay through the municipal rice growers’ associations. Free entry', of rice io Manila was. allowed, in Jan uary, 1944 Executive Ord^r N\ 37 decreeing the recruitment of ablebodied persons for civilian emergency service in food production was issued on February 23, 1944. In spite of all the measures taken by the administration, the price of rice continued to rise, and as a con sequence, the prices of other prime commodities followed suit. Thtf Food Administrator promulgated many or ders. He was constrained to raise the price of rice to P200 a cavan. The authorities even confiscated 122,401 cavans of rice arid palay during May. and June, 1944. Such an official ac tion, however, did not scare the rice hoarders and profiteers. Executive Orders Nos. 55 and 78 were issued with a view to extenuating the gravity' of the situation. The Food Adminis tration office was ordered to take possession of all stocks of rice and palay, except such quantities as might be needed for the consumption of fa milies and their dependents. Eating places were required to close from 8 p.m. since August 10, 1944. Serving of different courses was tabooed. Night clubs and dance halls were closed. Fishponds were comman deered to stabilise the fish supply. 1944 Some Achievements of Our Republic 23 And after the abolition of the Food Administration office, Executive Or der No, 85 was issued, giving special i s t' i.ie .■.iinistry of Economic Affairs in shaping»national econo mies. Executive Order No. 62 estab lished the National Commodities Pro curement and Distribution. Corpora tion (Nadisco), while Ordinance No. 8 created the Consumers’ Cooper ative Associations in the City of Ma nila (Mcca). On August 15, 1944, the first gen eral defense drill was held in the city. Mayor Leon G. Guinto advised that Manila residents should store suffi cient foods for the next coming drills. Suddenly, the prices of commodities skyrocketted. On September 21 and 22, 1944, certain parts of the City were bombed. During the air-raids and the days following, prices soared higher and higher with the sky as the limit. The price of rice rose to H,000 a cavan; a ganta of corn cost P120; a/.d a coconut, PIO. On the night of September 29, 1944, representatives of the Bureau of In vestigation, accompanied by Japanese so'diers, confiscated hoarded rice in the City. Subsequently,. President Laurel issued Proclamation No. 31 . ordering that five days from Qctober 2, 1944, all rice in excess of cne-half sack for every Manila resident should be surrendered to the Biba and that after the period so fixed, a house-tohouse search might be done again to confiscate oxters hoarded rice and penalise the holders thereof according to law. As a result of such drastic action and use of the “iron hand” by the government, the price of rice imme diately dropped to. P2.000 a cavan. The prices of corn and other food stuffs also dropped. The foregoing facts merely go to prove that all the appeals, concessions and solicitude of the government for the welfare of the people were nothing to, and had no effect whatsoever on the heartless hoarders of rice and. other foodstuffs, and on the unscru pulous profiteers whose only god is Mammon. The norm of conduct of these human sharks seems to be wholly based on selfishness and cu pidity so that they do not mind if the majority of their countrymen perish, provided they can survive and live in comfort even at 'the excuse of the latter. The hoarders and profiteers are the veritable enemies of public peace and order; their pernicious acts are but the manifestations of their disloyalty to their own people and to the Republic which protects their very lives and those of their child ren. So, in his extemporaneous speech over the radio on the evening of Oc tober 4,111944, President Laurel made a stirring appeal to the people, touched their hearts with his elo quence, so to speak, especially those of the profiteers, add reminded them that all the Filipinos are brothers and for this reason, we should love and help each other and should “sur vive together or perish together- in the present crisis”. Aftei’ all, what is the moral value of money and wealth ? So long as the mam at the helm of the Republic of the Philippines is one who shares in the privations of his people; so long as our President is one who feels what we feel and gut ters what we suffer, we should not lose hope. We must always bear in mind that our economic problems are but temporary in nature; they can be solved satisfactorily in. due time, but not immediately under the present circumstances. Lejt us therefore make sacrifices willingly in the meantime. We have every reason to hope for a rosy fu ture. Let us hope and wait. 4. Eradication of bribery, etc. In. his inaugural address, President Lau rel said that “government employ ment is neither a sinecure nor an instrument for . self-enrichment, but a noble calling of service to the peo24 Philippine Review December pie. Dishonesty, bribery and corrup tion have no place in the government and they shall be eradicated without quarter”. In accordance with this policy, the National Assembly passed Act No. 65 which was approved on March 3, 1944 This Act imposes heavier penalties for crimes involving robbery, bribery, falsification, illegal exactions and transactions, malversa tion of public funds and infidelity, and violations of food control laws, when committed by private indivi duals or entities, including hoarding and profiteering. To carry out the purposes contained in Ordinance No. 7 and Act No. 65, President Laurel appointed two judges and two special prosecutors of the new Courts of Special Cri minal Jurisdiction. At their induc tion into office, the President said that “the service they can render to the Republic of the Philippines is to prosecute those persons who, though rich, want to grow richer at the ex pense of the masses of the people.” Six violators of the foodstuffs con trol law were sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and PIO,000 fine each. Then the Bureau of Investigation was created by Executive .Order No. 59 to purge all government offices. As a result of the activities of this new office, 42 officers and employees of the Food Administration office, 4 officers and 71 enlisted men of the Philippine Constabulary were dis missed during June, 1944. It is ex pected that the government can gra dually get rid of the undesirable ele ments in the service and that only the honest and loyal ones will event ually remain therein. 5. Health and Sanitation. The fact that the people cannot be happy unless they enjoy good health, has not b^cn overlooked by the newlyborn Republic even during this time of stress and crisis. The government is ever vigilant and takes all the ne cessary teps to control diseases and to preserve health by educating the public on the needs of hygiene and sanitation. The Bureau of Health is entrusted with that work. Due to the strict en forcement of food inspection, and ex tensive campaign for the immunisa tion as well as for sanitary toilets in Manila and provinces the outbreak of epidemics has been averted. It rhav be mentioned that from October 15, 1943 to August 18, 1944, the Bureau of Health had given .4,000,000 injec tions against cholera, dysentery and typhoid, and 400,000 small pox vac cines. In different government hos pitals, 300,000 persons were treated for various maladies, while 70,000 were treated for malaria. -, The sanitary conditions of factories were looked into and improved. 6. Public Welfare and Relief. As in other countries, we have here a social class that should get the constant attention .and help of the government We ref*r to the or phaned and destitute children, delin quent minors, beggars, the aged and the invalids without anybody to teke care of them The Bureau of Public Welfare is in charge of the rehabili tation of these people. In addition, this office has established more than 120 puericulture centers in dif ferent places which look after the health of indigent mothers and child ren. It rounds up from time to time the poor and sick people roaming in the streets of the City and places them under the care of the govern ment. On October 18, 1943, it gave relief to the poor. On October 21, same year, it distributed foodstuffs, clothes and medicine costing P2.000,000 to war widows and indigent folk. Executive Order No. 81 created the Veterans’ Bureau, and the sum of P416.700 was set aside to be given as gifts to the veterans’ war widows and orphans on the first anniversary of the Republic of the Philippines. The Buread of Public Welfare su pervises more than 60 community kitchens which distribute food to ap proximately 90,000 old people and children. Likewise, it supervises the 1944 Some Achievements of Our Republic 25 so called “timbulane”. The said of fice extended help to about 660,000 people from October, 1913 to July, 1914. The. City Ilall 'distributed cash gifts on July 6, 1944 to 1,200 war prisoners, war widows and orphans. 7. Science and Research. This is an important phase in the program of the Republic. The Institute of Science and Technology has found cures and prevention of horse and chicken diseases. Scientific researches have so far produced good result, namely: calcium lactate out of coco nut; absorbent cotton dewaxed from cotton refuse in cotton mills; vitamin A from the liver of fish; substitute for tikitiki; preservative of perishable food; reconditioning of worn-out bat teries and foiled electric bulbs; antidiphtheric serum; coconut milk for purgative; decoction of guava leaves for wounds and skin irritation; coco nut oil mixed with muMard rub for cold and slight fever; dita bark for antifebrile drugs. The Tribune also published on October 6, 1944 the fol lowing achievements made by the Na • tional Research Center: making eV hypochloride disinfectant, and of an effective germicide extracted from the berberine plant for the treatment of tropical ulcers and athlete’s foot, and also the cottonisation of abaca fibers through biological method. v 8. Commerce and Industry. Awak ening from long lethargy, many Fi lipinos have been forced by circum stances to engage in retail trade and have by this time controlled the sari sari business, while others are now big-scale merchants. _ Last year (1943), 1,613 industrial establish ments were registered in the Bureau of Commerce and’ Industries, with a total capital of P16,440,000 and monthly output of P2,072,000; they hired 10,491 laborers. The said of fice has also under its supeims;on \14 buri- and sack-making projects. 9. Education. Even amidst trou bles and anxiety, the government has not neglected the development of the minds of the youth. The Appropria tion Law for 1944 provides the sum of P10,021,230 for educational purposes. Attendance at least in. the primary grades, according to the Piesident, must be made compulsory for all children of school age^n order to turn out not only good Tut also useful and capable citizens. The Tribune ptfolished on July 22, 1944 that approxi mately. 800,000 children were expected to enroll and that 145 public and pri vate schools would open in the City of Manila. The Institute for Tagalog Teachers and the Institute for Nippongo were opened on January 4. 1944 in the Gre gorio del Filar and San Andres Ele mentary School buildings, respectively. Executive Order No. 5 created the National Education Board to make a study and recommend the necessary reforms in existing educational sys tems. Upon recommendation of this Board, Executive Order No. 10 was issued, requiring a license before a teacher can teach, and providing that only Filipinos can teach the national language, Philippine history and character education. The President established on May 1, 1944 through Ordinance No. 18 a national youth brotherhood known as “Kabataan Pangarap ni Rizal” (Kapariz). Its principal purposes are to disseminate the teachings and examples of Dr. Jose Rizal and to develop in the Filipino youth “belief in God, love of country, honour and respect to parents, and such cardinal virtues as honesty, courtesy, truthful ness, charity, frugality, simplicity and neighbourliness. 10. National Language. Executive Order No. 10 also provides for com pulsory teaching of Tagalog in all schools. Proclamation No. 7 issued on December 24 to 30 of each year as “National Language Week.” Through the efforts of the Director of the Institute, of Na lienal Language, the Institute fol Tagalog Instructors for 26 Philippine Review. ■December bureaus and offices of the NationalGovernment was opened on April 13, 1944. i nother- school known as the Institute of Government Employees was also opened -on June 19, 1944 un der the .supervision of the Institute of National Language- The pres cribed subjects were Tagalog Official Correspondence, Grammar and Com position. Because of these training schools, the representatives of government bureaus and offices in Manila who have graduated therefrom may. pre pare now official correspondence in the national language as desired by the President. 11. -Employees and Laborers The interest of the President in the wel fare of government employees and la borers cannot be discounted. Due t"> the high cost of living, Act No. 23 was passed, providing bonuses for employees in the government service effective January 1, 1944. Executive Order No. 77 dated August 5. 1944 fixes the amount'of P100 as the mini mum monthly' compm'-ation in the employment of the government Ne?M is the living banns of P20 a month fov each;. lipor child or an employee,, effective -Time 1. 1944:'then the-3 month bonuses for al) env-Ioy.ms.' Lastly. Executive Order No 69 rrovidos. payment to the heirs of slain constabulary men in line of duty. Execut’vp Order No. 76 fixes t’-c wages of laborers in government projects at P5 and PIO a day. Government officers and employees in the city some’ time ago received gifts of. clothes from the Pre. ident 12 Transportation This is also,a diffi-olt problem du: ing - mm gmey. On August 11. 1.044. th- PomM of Information announced that un-’er Act No 50, the President organised the Land and Maritime Transporta tion Company known as Lamatra, to manage land-water transpprtation and to . bring foodstuffs to Manila from the provinces. During normal times, it. would mobilise commerce and industries throughout the Philip pines. 13 Other Accomplishments of tue Republic. President Laurel’s admi nistration program is extensive and important. But as he intimated in his inaugural * address, “during the infancy of. the Republic, . we should not expect the immediate accomplish ment in a single stroke of the vast and vital projects^ that I have, out lined to guide my administration”. ■ Moreover, we are still in the field of battle. We cannot- escape hards1-i^s and sacrifices arising from the wcr. The National Assembly, pursuant to the provisions of section 13, Arti cle TIT of the Constitution of the Re public of the Philippines -grart’d emergency powers to the President. The President created the Counci1 f State, the National P:amin'.r Fo.-id, the ". Mstry of Foreign Affeirs. the Flood Control Board, the R- lMf Con-. mitt°e, the Medicinal Plants Com>Mttep. fp, CenMnl PmiV.of th^ Philip pines. the Committee ' bn Filu mo Civic Cod.. the Civilian FrM.z\-1 ’. n P-C’'vicc- tr.--' Phi1ip":u^ Sugar As 0ciation. 'he BnnM of Inf umatioii midth- Economic 1’1;.lining Boafd. Fron ;.rov-iJ!'m nf Ordinance No. 27 inti m «r ' t’ e rahr of l.-ts comprNcd within thA 'Piv-ma' iMa FMin rh.daean to bm.afidc occu pants tn a t’’«?mn. the Presi dent fulfilled* the t Jong-chpd-’-bcd ■ dream of the peonle ’who were bo’/n and' have grown un there since child hood, to own their .respective hold ings. Inasmuch as. the rdo>-cause uf troubles in. that estate, centered <>n the disputes mMo owner-hip, the de cision of the government to sell-the same solved wisely lhe pioddepi of so cial unrest in Buenavista, -fhe’eby making Pm. ma vista people'contented and harspy folk. Finally, the evacuation of tfie Ma nila residents to the provinces, fol! w-' ing the warning- and advice of the administration is helping relieve to 1944 Some Achievements of Our Republic a certain extent the precarious situa tion in- the City, especially with res pect to the food problem. 14. The Main Purpose of the Re public. The achievements of the Re public during the first year of its existence clearly reflect the basic philosophy of dur Constitution, to wit: that “the welfare of the people is its main purpose”. From the be 2T ginning up to the present, such has been the guiding principle of the ad ministration in all its plans and pro jects.' We must thank Providence that, during this period of crisis, we have as our President Dr. Jose P. Laurel a man whose dream it has al ways been to translate Bonifacio’s concept of sound government into reality and action. Composite War Results-----Beloiv is a tabulation of the composite war results achieved by the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy*units from October 12 to December 4. The total includes the exploits in the Air Battle off Taiwan, the Naval Battle off the Philippines, the enemy losses in Leyte Gulf, and enemy cra*t blasted by unite of the Special Attack Squadrons. Only figures announced by the communiques of the Imperial General Headquarters, Tokyo, are included in this tabulation. Off Taiwan Off P.I. Total Grand Total Carriers Sunk.................. . . . 10 17 27 Aircraft Damaged................... 5 26 31 58 Battleships Sunk........................... 2 4 6 Damaged 2 12 14 21 AgTound.................... 0 1 1 Cruisers Sunk................ ... . 3 19 22 Damaged................... 4 10 14 36 Battleships or Sunk ........................ 0 1 1 Cruisers Damaged 0 3 3 4 Cruisers or Sunk ............................ 1 2 2 Destroyers Damaged................... 0 7 7 10 Unidentified Sunk ........ o 0 ■ 0 Warships Damaged.................... 13 11 -24 . 24 Destroyers Sunk . .................... 0 12 12 Damaged ....... 0 4 4 16 Transports Sunk . . . . f . . 0. 33 33 Damaged ...... 0 89 89 126 Aground . . .- . . . 0 4 4 Tankers Sunk.................... . . 0 0 0 Damaged.................... 0 1 1 1 Landing Ships Sunk ........................ o 19 19 and Barges Damaged .................... 0 2 2 Sunk or Damaged.. 0 115 115- . 136 Motor Torpedo Sunk . '................'. 0 7 7 Boats Damaged ...... 0 4 4 14 Grand Total . . 40 407 447 447. •’ December The Dream She Forgot By MERCEDES GRAU-SANTAMARIA She stood at a blackened arch of what had once been a framework of a beautiful doorway and gazed with saddened eyes at the pile of ruins that lay before her. More than a year had passed since, embittered and rebellious at the fate that with a single blow had deprived her of husband and home, she had abandoned the old homesite and sought peace and forgetfulness among friends, who. like the good Samaritans of old, had extended to her the gracious hand of friendship and welcome. Strange, but she found it hard to believe now that those same ruins represented what she had once proudly called home— that the blackened stones that met her gaze had once supported an ultra-modern edifice which had of fered to the world an indubitable testimonial of her good taste and wealth. “Villa Aurora” her husband had called it, naming after her, but her friends had immediately dubbed it “Aurora borealis” upon beholding the splendor of its interior, and the name had stuck. For it was a veri table paradise, of lights with all the lighting effects that modern in genuity and electricity could devise, enhanced greatly by the expensive multi-coloured glass windows that she had lavishly ordered to be used everywhere. So that even in bread daylight, one got the effect of night. especially since air-conditioning had also been utilised. Here in this palace of lights she had reigned supveme'*and many were the gather ings she had held in it; for her hus= band was proud of her beauty, and desired above all things to exhibit it in the precious setting he had provided for it. Children there were none, for neither had desired them, and each had been free to seek pleasure at all times anywhere. Time passes quickly when one has no woiries and cares, so that, before she quite realised it, five hectic years had passed. And, suddenly, war, swift and unexpected^ had descended upon them She could never, for the rest of her 'ife, forget waking up that fateful morning of the eighth, still half dreaming of a wild party she had attended the pre vious night and receiving with a jolt, the terrible news of war There had really been nd time to prepare or at least develop an attitude towards this frightening thing called war. She had most of her life planned her activities and carried them out in her cwn sweet time; but this war —she had not even reckoned the possibility of such a calamity af fecting her directly. Even in the face of hurried evacuations and frenzied shopping for prime commo dities among her friends, she had remained calm—not because she felt calm but because she could not 1944 The Dream She Forgot quite accept the idea of war and her mind mercifully refused to assume the burden of worry. Besides, there was her husband, calm as the Pacific Ocean when Bal boa must have first beheld it, and she reacted according ’to his at titude. Until Pasay was raided and she found herself suddenly without, home and husband, so that she could no longer ignore the horror of war and she had taken flight as an easy means of escaping from it. A year! Much can happen in a single day. How much more in one wtple year! She had lived among friends—not those who had shared parties with her but friends who belonged to an earlier era. Friends who had remained true to oldtime customs and traditions and had un consciously given her an entirely new outlook.- She had lived their simple life and shared their common everyday experiences, so that she had come to forget the horror of war and had furthermore attained a new sense of values. And she had come home to see what she could build out of the ruins of the former life and start life anew with the strength and courage (hat. her stay with her friends had invested hef. And now she was back--back in the old homesite where she had known a different happiness and, for a swift moment, sorrow, bitter as gall, enveloped her soul. So that she felt too weak to stand alone and she leaned against the blackened framework and closed her eyes while she lived through the agony once more—the agony that had been hers after the tragedy that had oc curred which had destroyed her husband and her home. Then a soft breeze was mercifully wafted to her, bringing the sweetisji scent of mango blossoms; and, keep ing her eyes still closed, she let the welcome breeze play over her fea tures. Then as though touched by a magic key, the gates of her me mory slowly opened while from the innermost recesses of her mind emerged little scenes she had long ago forgotten and which had formed together one sweet, beautiful dream. A tiny stream running through the quiet town of San Rafael, Bulacan, and a tiny nipa hut beside it, with a trim “gumamela” hedge perennially bearing its red flowers and a huge mango tree old as the ages perfuming the air with its sweet blossoms in early summer time and gladdening the eye with its luscious yellow fruit in May. A rustic swing hung from its widespreading branches. Many were the times she had sought refuge under its welcome shelter and whiled the lazy hours away, setting the swing in motion with one foot the while she wove day-dreams that fitted through the tiny spaces of the lacy pattern formed by the over-hanging leaves and lost themselves in the fle ecy clouds that lazily drifted by to join at leisure those that had gone before to form one long irrerminable voluminous chain. Strange how Victor had always figured in those dreams. Victor it was who had been her constant play mate and later companion until Marcial came and swept her off her feet with the ardour of his wooing. Victor it had always been when in picnics and dances she had picked out her favourite partner so that everybody in San Rafael took it. for granted that they two would marry some day and settle down in the old hometown, and- perhaps raise a child or two by the placid stream where they themselves had played many a prank on each other. She herself had more than accepted the idea, and long before Victor could summon sufficient courage to broach the subject, she had hugged close to her bosom tne picture of some day being his v-ife. Sweet, sweet so Philippine Review December dream? Doubly sweet when she remembered that she had asked for nothing then but to be his wife so that she might cuddle him and spoil him, and wait on him hand and foot, forgetting all thought of self in the desire ''to serve him and mi nister to his wants. All she asked and desired then was his love, his complete, overwhelming love. But Marcial had come before Victor had spoken. And he had tempted her with his offer of riches and an ex citing life she had not known, so that she had .closed her heart to t' e pleading that was in Victor’s hurt eyes and^she had married Marcial. Marcial had given her little cause to regret her choice. He had been easy to live with, and proved to be a generous provider. And if the war had not come, they might have drifted along together and remain ed friends to the end of their lives. But now that he was gone, she realised that something. had been locking in their relationship, that she had been relying, too much on his generosity, and had taken too many things for granted without giving much in return herself. And having failed to give, she.had little of memory to fall back on; and now she felt so useless, so useless and unneeded. Until she remembered that brief, encounter at the plaza with , the Victor of her dreams and the sur prised look he had given her in response to her brief nod of recog nition. They had had no chance to speak but she iiked to think now that he had been glad to see her. She had not seen him since her shame less desertion; and she had had no. news of him save the fact that he had chosen to remain unmarried and was making good in his profes sion as an engineer. Perhaps he was holding 'the torch for her, ' hoping she would turn hack *o him some day. Or—dared she herself hope? Strange mood she was in to be thinking and dreaming of Victor again. She had pushed his memory away from her when she chose Mar cial but now the breeze, and the mango blossoms, and that plea surable encounter had brought all the past bflek. Useless to try to recall her life with Marcial. It was Victor, Victor who intruded into her thoughts and refused to be ejected for the. second time. She felt him so near her that she smelled the faint aroma that she always as sociated with him—the mingled scent of fresh Reuter soap and mel lowed tobacco—so that she close d her eyes more tightly that the nrchm might persist and she might fe< 1 the all-enveloping comfort of his pre sence more strongly. She was conscious of a new courage born iri her—a courage to take up the broken threads of her life and start all over again. No longer did she feel despair in- her heart nor bitterness in her soul. With a sureness that the memory of Victor’s past devoution and tender solicitations gave her, she knew that he was still hers and that her dreams were something still possi ble of realisation. She would build the house she had dreamed of hav ing right here in the very spot where • Vi!!„ Aurora hud stood. Only it would be no “villa” but a modest nipa hut with a trim “gumamela” hedge and a big mango tree beside it, and perhaps rows and rows of banana plants behind it, while hun'■ z’s of tiny. of’—ops flowers Would scent the air with their varied perfumes at night. And in that humble hut there would be children, sober, sensible children who shall grow up in an atmosphere of affection, moderate pleasures, obedience and respect,— nothing of the gay and empty festi vities meant to feed human vanity and to cover up the hollows of an empty, pointless existence. Christ 19M The Dream She Forgot 81 mas, of course, would be observed; but evert this, in a modest way, so as not to lose its essence. From now on there would be a future— not right away while the nation is at war which seeks to give meaning and depth to a superficial life,—a future of peace and of fruitful ef fort in this nipa hut, in this beauti ful sunny land which God hath given them... Ar.d on moonlit nights, she and Victor would stand side beside at the window and inhale the sweet fragrance they used to know to gether in Bulacan. He would not need to speak, for now she knew that his was a love that needed no words with which to express itself. The ecstasy of her dream at last became too great to be borne so that she opened her eyes to end the dream and face the reality. But the dream persisted, for she found her self looking into a pair of soft brovzn eyes moist with emotion and felt her hand held gently in a warm clasp she knew so well. And this time she made no attempt to end her dream, for those dear eyes looking into her own spoke a language her heart could at last understand. A Way of Dignity, Peace and Liberty^ HON. JORGE B. VARGAS, Philippine Ambassador to Japan: If we had a warpaint in /W, it was the preserva tion of the opportunity for independence opened for us by the United States in the Tydings-McDuffie Law. Even in 1941, we were haunted by the spectres of social disorder and political isolation which would attend any independence that we might win through American victory. And look ing beyond this dream of victory we sought, even as we sought in the years of peace before the war, for some na tural and reasonable solution to our dilemma of freedom withdut security or without freedom.' We groped in the darkness for a way out, a way of dignity, honour, peace and liberty. By some paradox of destiny, it was through our seeming defeat and disaster of 1942 that we found that way out. The magnanimous Empire of Japan, tolerant in war and generous in victory, invited our country and our people to cooperate in the establishment of a free union of East Asians, a Co-Prosperity Sphere where the nations of this region of the world which we inhabit might co-exist and collaborate for a common good on the basis of liberty, equality and reciprocity. 89 December The Philippine Short Story in this War By SALVADOR FAUSTINO Fgl j WENTY-ONE ISSUES OF THE Philippine Review have given us a total of around forty pieces of excellent fiction. Cut/of these Fili pino short stories in English we have selected what may be grouped (perchance for the inspection of any enterprising book publisher, as well as for the lay reader who is inte rested in the art of the short story) under the title of “The Twenty Best Short Stories of 1943-1944.” There will be writers and readers of a. few other publications (like the Pillars and the ertwhile '.ite-rary section of The Tribune Ma gazine) who would claim incomplete ness in the listing hereunder. We are aware of the excellence of one or two pieces that appeared in the parenthesised magazines (for example: “The Bamboos” by /Fran cisco Ar°eJlana, two or three stories by Juan Trinidad and Ruben Adria no, and a story by Narciso G. Reyes about a town-rambling painter—that appeared in the Sunday Tribune Ma gazine). Such stories we have re gretfully omitted from the present listing because of the nature of our survey: which is a review of Review stories, not a critical survey of the whole field of the Filipino short story. The initial issue cr the Philippine Review augured well for the renais sance, or the continuance, of the art of the short story. The Filipino short story has been one of the best thriving literary art forms in the Philippines lon'g before war came. Volume One, Number One of the Review carried two stories “A New Day for Filomena” by Juan C.‘ Laya and “The Woman Who Felt Like La zarus” by Nick Joaquin. It was—if we,may say" so—enough fictional art to boost up a newly cropping-up ma gazine; and the two stories are cer tainly in our list. , “Rendezvous -At Banzai Bridge” by Manuel E. Arguilla is one of the cleverest (and in this sense, refresh ing) short stories to come out in Philippine publications. Although it is not impeccable zas “form”, the nostalgic tang of its subjective ex pression is sufficient to rate it an asterisk. The piece it appears with,— in the April 1943 Review—“Miguel Comes Home” by the veteran story writer Paz Latorena, takes the lead in the fictional section of Volume One, Number Two. The Latorena story is in the author's wellknown serene manner, and the story tells itself, being of the “straight narra tive” kind. Wh«n, we come to the second Review story of Nick Joaquin, “It Was Later Than We Thought”, we almost suc cumb to the temptation to quote; there are so many excellent passages from the letters of his fictional “priests, publicans, and sinners”. The piece itself as a whole is a suc cessful “story-in-letters”—of the type which many local writers have tried 1944 The Philippine Short Story in this War 33 even before the war. It is not an easy feat; it is not just dashing off an assemblage of personal let ters in chronological order that would form an authentic short story; there remains the problem of the art of deliberate irregularity that must be worked over, comparable to the irre gularity 'of a brook that sings—pur ling and falling in irregular ruffles over pebbles now large, now small, and varidistant. Before putting forth the list, we wish to make a hurried remark upon the changing spirit of the Filipino short story, its growing aliveness to the raw passions aroused by the war, the increasing maturity and mellow ness of the Filipino short story wri ter who. like all his brothers in what ever field or capacity, has aged in the searing flames of war experience. Tn fine, we observe an increased vi tality in the art, which is as it should be, considering the best of art cannot escape a reflexion of life, particu larly a life like ours today, although we would say it does not just repro duce it. One has only to skim through “City of Grass” bv Pedrcchc and Kerima Polotan’s “Gallant Men— Gallant Ways” to realise what a dy namic artistic impetus war can be. whatever men may say of its des tructive aspect. We would like Io indulge in fur ther critical disquisitions on the me rits of the stories in our list of twen-' tv and in the Roll of Honour of seven, but already “the critical listing, without the critical word, reveals.” THE TWENTY BEST Philippine Review STORIES (From the initial issue March 1943 to that of November 1944.) ARCELLANA, FRANCISCO **How to Read—Sept. 1944 ARGUILLA. MANUEL E. •"Rendezvous At Banzai Bridge—Apr. 1943 CRUZ, EMILIO AGUILAR •THE RIDERS—Feb 1944 DE CASTRO, FIDEL * * Street Scene—May 1944 HIZON-CASTRO, NATIVIDAD’ * • Parting- May 1943 JOAQUIN, NICK ■*The Woman Who Felt Like Lazarus- Mar. 1943 * * * It Was Later Than We Thought —July 1943 LATORENA, PAZ *" Miguel Comes Home—April 1943 LA YA. JUAN C. ‘A New Day for Filomena—-Mar. 1943 **River Story—Sept 1943 MONTES, VERONICA L. * * Nocturne-Sept 1943 PEDROCHE, CONRADO V. * * The Ladder Boy-April 1944 * * City of Grass—Aug. 1944 * * Fm- f|iP Brave and the Good Oct. 1944 POLOTAN. KERIMA * * * Callan* Mm?—Gallant Ways— l4ov 1944 RAMOS, MAXIMO * * The River- Oct 1944 REYES, NARCISO G. * * * The Long Wind—June 194 4 TUBOl. SAKAE **Song of lhe Chopping Board (t., by Kin-Iti Isikawa)— fan. 1944 VICTORIO REYES, LIGAYA **A Peace Like Death—Aug 1943 * * Uhristma/- Visit—D 1944 The Roll o/ Honour (Out of the 20 Best Short Stories selected in the above list, seven have been found worthy of inclusion in the exclusive Roll of Honour; these seven stories are comp’rat it in ex cellence to the very best hundred or so stories published in the Philip pines in the whole history—up to the present—of the local short story as an art form; they M’*5 of a “more 31 Pirn.irpiNE Review December oi- less permanent literary interest” — in short, excellent litei'ature.) ARCELLANA, FRANCISCO * * How to Read—September 1944 JOAQUIN, NICK * * * It Was Latei Than We Thought -July 1943 LATORENA, PAZ, * * Miguel Comes Home—April 1943 PEDl'-UCHE, CONRADO V. * Ly of Grass—Ai! ust 1944 POLOT' T. KERIMA ♦** Gallant Men...Gallant Ways— Nov. 1944 REYES, NARCISO G. * * * The Long Wind -June 1944 VICTORIO REYES, L1GAYA *'Christmas Visit—Deccmter 1913 Pulriol Arid The Traitor---TRIBUNE Editorial: Acts considered as crimes against the safety and security of the Republic, as listed by the Minister are: Spreading of false rumours; wilful obstruction of gov ernmental activities; sabotage, such as destruction or dam aging of facilities; arson; sheltering, of enemy airmen or parachute troops; harbouring of enemy spies; aiding of elements hostile to the Republic; communicating with the foe; and listening to enemy broadcasts. Those who commit any of these acts will be subjected to the sev'erest penalties, needless to say. There could never be any hope for leniency in base crimes against the state. The authorities have given sufficient warning on the.heavy punishment which the government will impose on the dis quieting elements that plot to undermine the stability of the state. There is no room for a traitor in these crucial times of war when the whole Philippines is under martial law. There is no excuse which a traitor to one's country, could offer. The treasonable acts listed by Minister Sison are definite and clear, and the criminal laws of the land will take care of the rumor-monger, file saboteur, and those who assist the enemy. But, there are others—the misguided and the rceak-willed that still cling to their mental reservations. They are on the fringe of treason, on the margin of anti state behaviour. We would urge them to sit down alone and contemplate deeply their position as members of the Filipino race. A man who has forgotten his country's history and traditions, hrs racial consciousness and pride is an outcast, ignored by his own countrymen and slighted by his country’s enemies —a stigma more dishonourable than a traitor's death. After all, there could never be treasonable acts against the state in a nation of patriots. The question-is whether we love our Republic of the Philippines less and our courvtry’s enemies more. 1944 SB. Christmas in Philippine Art By I. V. MALLARI C CONSIDERING OUR VAUNT that the Philippines is the only Christian nation in the Orient, it is surprising that our painters have not produced any notable work on the sub ject of Christmas, which occupied Italian, Flemish, and Dutch masters from the Middle ages down to the Re naissance. The Philippine Museum of Art and History, the Vdrgas Col lection, the Alvero Collection, and the Ongpin Collection—in not a single one of these can you find a Nativity or an Adoration of the Magi Of course, our painters—even the skep tical Hernando Ocampo—have painted Madonnas; but theSe are not strictly Christmas paintings, for they do not celebrate the holy night when the Saviour was born. This deplorable paucity of Christ mas paintings done by Filipincs may "be attributed to the very low regard that the Filipino people had come to hold for the Roman Catholic Church ’ just at the time when/ the art of painting in this country reached its apogee with Juan Luna, Felix Resur^ reccion Hidalgo, and Rafael Enriquez. Caught in the eddies of liberal thought then pervading the whole of Europe, these men, especially Juan Luna, preoccupied themselves with social questions. Most of their paint ings were jeremiads against “man’s inhumanity to ‘man”. They had lost f^H.h in the comforts of rel'gion, for the interpreters of God in their own country had themselves led in oppres sing and exploiting the weak and the lowly. . - In the forty-four years that fol lowed the Philippine Revolution, re ligion occupied a minor niche in the scheme of Philippine^ life. The Fili pinos, especially the/Filipino women, still went to church assiduously, of course; but the fervour which had inspired the buildings and the embel lishment of our houses of worship— this fervour had/been killed by the greed and rapacity and the arrogance of the friars For the religious or ders in this country, forgetting their missions of love and mercy, and their vows of poverty and humility; sought to establish here an •-‘cc'e-instical empire co-extensive with that of Spain. And this, togethei; with thfrir intense preoccupation" with the af fairs of the flesh rather than with the things of the spirit, had ended in alienating the affection and the respect of .the people. By the turn of the century, in short, religion—to use the language of thn crow<i--had !o-t i»s gr rn^' r; and Filipino men of culture, parti cularly those with the. creative urge, began to turn their attention to the economic, th* s?ci.” a-^ tme poi -'al aspects of the national scene. The business man and the politician be gan to gain ascendancy over the men of religion. This change of »venue, of course, could not help being mirrored in our art; and its first tangible manifesta tion was the challenge flung by the 86 Philippine Review December schoolhouse at the church building as the outstanding architectural land mark in every Philippine community. The schoolhouse began to vie with the church, not only in size, promin ence, and pretentiousness; but also and mostly in its mission as the cul tural center of the surrounding re gion. Filipino painters, on their part, began to record, not their interpreta tions of the ageless Biblical stories of the Nativity and the Adoration of the- Magi, but their reactions to the purely social and sociological .aspects of Christmas. Take, for example, that Amorsolo canvas in the Alvero Collection, depicting a familiar scene during the Christmas season—the pa tio of a church alive with the crowd of vendors and holiday-makers, with only a glimpse of the interior of the sacred edifice, in which the solemn ceremony of the mass is taking place. And the artist has managed to give lhe impression that the hectic activi ties in the patio have somehow in-' t.ruded into the sacrosanct presence of divinity. This is a typical Filipino Christmas picture. The emphasis is on the pre occupations of the people in the act of celebrating the most popular holi day in Christendom, not the sacred event that the holiday seeks to com memorate. Thus we have pictures of gay young . swains escorting their sweethearts to and from the misa de gallo, housewives putting up Christ mas lanterns or trimming the Christ mas tree, men preparing the lechon for the midnight supper that always form the climax of every Christmas Eve celebration, in this country. These are anecdotal and socially do cumental, not allegorical and reli gious, pictures often prepared for popular magazines, in order to satisfy the common man’s—and woman’s— craving for the romantic and thc,sentimental and the nostalgic. In the 1930’s. however, when the Filipino artists and men of letters began to be socially conscious, when political leaders began to discourse on social justice, and when the common man himself began to clamour for his rights as a citizen and to complain of his pitiful lot in society—in the 1930’s, our local painters began to depict on canvas the great discre pancy between the way Christmas was celebrated by the “haves”' and the way it was celebrated by the “have nots”. An example of this type of painting is the one in the National Museum of Art and History, showing Christ Himself as a poor man knock ing in vain at the gates of a palatial residence in which a Christmas party is in progress. This picture is so poor it is diffi cult to imagine how it ever managed to get onto the walls of the National Museum of Art and History, but it has the merit of embodying the gen eral attitude of local artists towards the institution of Christmas. If this attitude is tinged with censure and discontent, with frustration and des pair, perhaps it is only because art ists, as a general rule, are one of the worst misunderstood and unappre ciated groups in these Islands. Like all prophets since the dawn of time, they are—or, at least, the great ma jority of them—without honour in their own country. It would be interesting to speculate on how our artist will interpret the spirit of Christmas after this terrible baptism of blood and fire that our people have been undergoing since the war began. Would they, embittered and hopeless, feel that “there is no Santa Claus”—that there is no God even—and depict the spirit of Christ mas in mockery? Would they, in a desperate attempt to,blot out from their sight and from their memory the dreadful holocaust into which their country has been plunged, seek the romantic refuge of an escapist, and paint nostalgic pictures of the beauty and the gaiety and the glory of the Christmas celebrations that used to be? Or would they, purified 1944 Christmas in Philippine Art 37 by suffering and destitution and the threat of death, regain the old fer vour that inspired their forefathers to put up temples of worship and to embellish them with the anonymous paintings and sculptures which now form one of our richest cultural herit ages from our glorious past? In all likelihood, however, we can expect the revitalisation of our cul ture and of our art, as a result of this rude and sudden impact of real ity upon our national life. For there is diothing that can mature and en noble peoples as well as individuals with greater certainty than suffer ing. The need for sacrifice and spiritual fortitude cannot but strengthen our moral fiber, broaden our vision of life, deepen our insight into the eternal verities, and bring us closer to the forces that activate the universe. Thus, “seeing life steadily and seeing it whole”, our art ists may interpret and* record that life with a compelling persuasiveness that would enable even the least dis cerning among us to perceive and to appreciate the full significance of the spirit of Christmas as the essence of mankind’s drpam of the best of all possible world. American Casualties — DOMEl, in a dispatch from Lisbon; Revealing that-cas ualties among the American ground force on western Eu rope up to November 1 have already exceeded the 200,000 mark, a Washington dispatch said the U.S. War Depart ment has announced that casualties, not including that of the air force totalled 200,349 including 35,884 killed, 145,788 wounded and 18,677 missing. More Than the Gift—' TRIBUNE, Editorial, December 20, 1944: It is, therefore, not so much the eight pieces of dried fish, the half a kilo of cassava flour, and the three yards of cloth that should form the basis of public appreciation of the President’s gift to each of the'needy families Rather, it is the profound commiseration and genuine affection for his own people which have prompted the giving that should be borne in mind and lodged in the hearts- of all There is, too, in the gift-giving the reflexion in what the government of the Republic is striving to do for the entire Filipino nation in its painfid efforts to save the people from greater misery, to preserve the present-for the future, and to secure the survival of this nation for the vast promises of the peace that this war is seeking to establish upon a more enduring basis. 88 December Our Staff of Life By ANTONIO PAULINO T P HE ORGANISATION OF THE Rice and- Corn Administration in mid: . November to supplant the Bigasang Bayan as the Government’s control agency in staples gives validity to the fact that war imposes upon govern ments the duty of supplying the bask needs of their people. Events of the past many months have in fact ar gued for governmental controj of the staple crops.. For precisely the reason that profiteering is a natural result of developments that dislocate normal channels of distrib 'tion, private en terprise cannot and should not be de pended upon especially in the matter of prime goods Travelers from the north speak of lush ti( in the Central Plain — hectares arid hectares of yellow stalk freighted with a .rich harvest. The Ricoa s job is to see that this harvest sidetracks the profiteer’s bodega arid goes direct to the pot. Two facts must be aknowledged. The first is that the profiteer and the crooked police .agent are at the base of the whole business. The sec ond is that the people are willing to go almost any length in helping eli minate these two, but that their co operation ultimately would depend upon how uncompromisingly the’ Gov ernment would deal with them. This • season’s rice crop, allowing for adverse factors such as attacks by pests and unfavourable weather that usually subtract from a normal* harvest, should aggregate at least 450,000 cavans of palay in'the Cen tral Plain alone.. Grain which has been hoarded for various reasons ought to number 50,000 cavans more. All of this total—or as much of it as can be made available—should go the people’s, larder- beginning this Chirstmas. If this is to be made more than a mere 'wish, the mailed fist should be used The Government should estah-. lish moral restraints calculated to make profiteering—and in fact the least intention to-abet the profiteer ing—really dangerous business. The maximum, penalty would be given of fenders. under martial law. Profiteering begins at the source of the goods. Any serious attempt to discourage profiteering should begin at the same point. Hoarding of rice in the Central Blain results from two ' general causes; namely, the steady arid swift Climb of prices, which makes specula tion attractive to producers, and the difficulty of transporting the grain from farmer to buying center due to risks on the road Organised ban ditry and the natural desire to stock up against a day of need add to these factors Faceci with bodily harm if tliey sfell their grain, farmers are cowed into keeping most of it. In the Central Plain the practise-is. wide-, spread to hoard a. considerable por tion of the harvest as a reserve to 1944 .0‘tt St.*ff of Tife -, 89 <i?aw from in case the next crop should fail. Rice producers should therefore be extended full assurance of. security Their entire output should be con trolled by the RICOA; trade iri_ the cereal other , than by this one organi sation should be outlawed. Apart from the fact that it faces great temptations to profiteer, pri vate enterprise is. handicapped by the restrictions imposed by war Conse■ quently there is a one-sided disparity between production and consumption As the Government—and the Govern ment only—is in a position to hurdle t’ se restrictions, it should take un to- itself what normally is a function of private business. As an operating company the Govertyment can muster the country’s f- ':ns, mines and forests to yit-Id the row materials it would require; conso’idate factories and wo»*k th'*m un der its management or control: and construct oascos and bate!? that it would need to procure raw mnt.orif.ls and distribute finished goods Wit!' those facilities, it can *urn. out th*, basic articles needed by it> custo mers: the people. . An office of production manage ment, of wtych the Ra oa should be a part, can c’omdinat.< the production, transportation^ and distribution of prime goods. Already the Ihco?. has addressed itself to solving the key problem: rice. The rice problem is at bottom one of human values 'For this reason, th.* farmer should be tak n for what h* is; the foundation upon which ro/s the economic edifice of an agri cu’turaJ country such as ours. He b! ould be tymilhissed with his k^y position in this edifice Rice is the staple food. It is scarce at this time.' Producing it is a respon.'bility which he is duty-bound to discharge because it. is vital to the potiona’ existence He must in. fact be taught that’t is his duty to plant his land . with the people’s crop. Only that part of his harvest which is sufficient for his needs may he legally keep; the people should hrvo the rest. The grain should be husked only in authorised mills, tranported only in government conveyances. A mini mum price which would allow the farmer a'reasonable margin of profit should be fixed—and the Government should- stick to it. A question becomes pertinent here. At this minimum price, how is/the farmer to meet the rising ljving cost? Profiteering runs in a vicious cir cle. A majority of profiteers are not innately bad; they profiteer so that they can pay the price of other pro fiteers Most of those who profiteer in coconuts, for example, al’e forced to it by the desire to/meet the terms of those who profiteer in rice. The Government shou]d enable rice producers to have little traffic with profiteers As much as it possibly could, it . shov’d satisfy their basic wants: food, clothing, and shelter. Weekly or bi-weekly rations of pri’^e go-'-d? wou’d increas'-- their morale and indirectly the price fixed for th-air crop. P.ice travel* a long way from fin'd to pot: in between.. th- police agent holds destiny in the palm of his hand. His privileges should- for that reason, be n<r less. A private in the- Constabulary gets free clothing, quarters and hoard, and a basic pay of P(>O»n month The cheapest kind of cigarA1, at current prices cost ohe peso apiece No mat ter how good hi- arithmetic, d is hard t see how he can keep his bud get balanced* The government should recognise the fact that honour is a very fine thing but that no amount of black magic will enable an empty sack to stand upright. Constabulary. officers and men should be given tations of those prime goods they need most— as many rations per wtek as would* be sufficient to eliminate every ex 40 Philippine Review December cuse for bribery in the force. If in spite of these privileges they should persist in alining then;selves with .profiteers, they should imme diately be arraigned before summary courts-martial. If found guilty, they should be disgraced in front of their companies and shot at dawn. The Government has, in . times past, handled the profiteer-and the crooked policemen with silk gloves The Filipino people, it has been stressed by those who expertise on such things, have a peculiar psycho logy; they are more amenable to po licies of attraction than o5 force. It has in fact become common to read of high public officials asking the co operation of rice producers with tears in their eyes. Clearly, the Government has been patient enough; it has tried that po licy and it has found that it does not work. The corrupt peace office)- is still with us; the profiteer stiil lingers on. Better results will per haps - be achieved if we take these people for what they are—soulless scoundrels who should join the devil in hell—and line them up against the wall. That would seem un-Christian and would shock many of the ’devout this Christmas. But at a time of zooming prices and precious 'ittle money, it would probably mean the difference between a bitter rejection of God and a calm assurance that He’s still in His heaven and all’s right with the world. Giving Up CTiunglting— HANSON BALDWIN, Military Commentator of the New York Times: Japanese forces are surging toward their military objectives. As a result, Chungking . has been thrown into confusion which seems to be beyond -relief. It is advisable for us to reconsider the role of Chungking in this war. When we deal a decisive blow on Japanese forces, it will be possible for the Americans to attack the heart of Japan from the air and from the seas with the use of troops to be detailed from insular bases which a,re already in our possession. We, therefore, have no need of continuing prolonged hostilities on the China continent. 1944 41 Taiwan Shows the Way By JOSE G. SANVICTORES T AIWAN’S OVERSEAS TRADE in 1939 totaled Yl,001,588,032. For the same year her total agricultural production was valued at ¥536,890,000. If we compare these figures with our overseas trade for 1940 of £581311.589 and a total agricultural pro duction for the same year of £427,634, 399 the conclusion is inescapable that Taiwan’s agriculture and industry are much more highly developed than ours Nor is this a fair comparison for Taiwan’s territory is only about 1/8 of jurs while her popula tion is but slightly more than 1/3 of ours. If we are to take the proportion therefore, based on population as the factor of production, we must multi ply Taiwan’s total agricultural pro duction of ¥536,890,000 by 'three to get an idea of what should be our total agricultural production. This would reach the enormous figure of Pl,610,670,000 which the Philippines must produce yearly to be on a par with Taiwan. Object of Mission The Philippine Agricultural Survey Commission was sent to Taiwan to find out (1) how Taiwan was able to attain such a high level of develop ment and (2) how her enormous wealth is distributed. Is it reflected in the standard of living of the masses of her population? The answer to the first question is the application of the results of scientific research and experimenta tion to Taiyvan’s agricultural practi ces. Science literally etalks the farms in Taiwan. For instance, forty years ago the Taiwanese farmers were using over 1,000 varieties >f rice. In three years ihis number had been reduced to 375 and the farmers were given the choice of any. Later the creation of the so-called “llorai” varieties and their general adoption by 1924 for seed in creased the Tinit and total yield of Tai wan rice enormously. The same scientific procedure was. adopted in developing other crops. Taiwan agriculture is dependent on irrigation on which the government, the irrigation associations and sugar companies haw spent the consider able sum o1 ¥130,000,000. The irri gation system of Taiwan are among the best in the world. To make up for lack of commercial fertilizers the government turned its eyes to farm compost and the universal practice of applying large quantities of com post has mad» it possible for Taiwan to maintain her high production. The improved methods of cultiva tion generally practiced is another important factor of high production. Rice is planted in straight rows and is properly spaced while the soil is well prepared and weeds are thus kept down. Other crops like camote and peanuts, are as carefully culti vated. Small Landholdings Finally improved agricultural prac tices are quickly introduced and adopted through- farmers’ associa tions. The smallest unit is called “buraku” anc roughly corresponds to our sitio, being a smaller unit than the barrio. 42 Philippine Review December The answer to the second question is the small landholdings in’ Taiwan. Only 1/7 of l%--of-the total number of farm families have holding of 50 to over 100 hectares, the average big landholdings being 202 hectares. •While the percentage of tenancy and part ownership is high due to the scarcity of land coijjpafred to the large farming population, yet there prevails general contentment among tenant farmers for their total income is high. The}' derive their income from various crops; rjce, sugar cane, sweet potato, beans, peanuts, bananas, vege tables and farm-animals, of which the pig is„the most important. ’ In fact pig raising is considered such an in dispensable complement of farming that the farmers feel farming cannot exist without thd pig. Land utilisation is high, that is, land is made to grow various crops in continuous succession and by the practice of campan ion or overlap crop ping (known in Taiwan" as the Koa~ system) two or even three different crops may be seen growing on the same soil at the same time. A fact worth noting is the absence of big Japanese landholders. The to tal Japanese population engaged Tn farming is gi- en as 8,500. Many of these are engaged in the cultivation of specialised crops like tobacco. They are found Jn settlements locat ed on reclaimed river beds the soil of which for the most part is so sandy that it literally has to be built up. This is done by running the muddj water of rivers to the area being reclaimed. It is certainly remarkable that the Japanese have not taken the best when they c^uld have done so. “With Open Arms” The policies of the Government of Taiwan are liberal and benevolent. In this connexion we must not fail to mention the two officials of the early Japanese administration respon sible for the initiation of a policy cf fair .treatment for the native popu lation. Their spirit still lives and the policies of all the succeeding ad ministration are a continuation of those libera] policies. 1 refer to Viscount Kodama who was appointed Governor ' General in 1898 as the fourth Governor General and his great collaborator Dr. Goto. As a result of such enlightened poli cies of government, there are not to be seen great mansions whether. in the cities or rural communities, while the homes of the poorest class dre pro vided with the necessary comforts of life and the people's standard of liv ing is high.- There are no high peaks of wealth nor deep vales of poverty. The curve of prosperity is well gra duated and follows a high level. The Philippine .Agricultural Survey Commission to Taiwan had an oppor tunity to visit cities, villages and the smallest political subdivisions cailed “buraku” and make close personal ob servations of the life cf the people. The Commission's conclusion there fore are based on a study made of representative cross sections of the Urban and rural life in Taiwan. And no information was withheld from us. The widest possible opportunity was given us to learn what Taiwan lias done and what it is doing. The officials of the Government General as well as the provincial, city, town and village official alike, re ceived us with open arms as the .re presentative of a friendly or sister nation. To these officials goes bur heartfelt gratitude. 1944 Poems 43 In Mem o ria m By APOLINARIO A. ACURA 1. Fallen heroes are leaves fallen from the tree of summer, scattered o’er fields: faces once flushed with sunshine, vibrant with dir now' sonibe. with shadows, silent, . still. 2. With dust and prayer Honour buried each one: a leaf to a plot; a plot'for a leaf— so many leaves so many plots. 6. 3. And tilled by Love, watered With tears of Grief, they grow row upon row of stones or crosses. 4. Sleeping rows that when touched by the magic ivand of 'Memory stirs and rises up. 5. And frfrm out of each bed of. stone or cross blossoms forth a flower, a radiant flower— GLORY-of-thc.-land! (How rare yon flowers are! Hoiv sweet, their smell! H'ow prized by all!) Now pleated into garlands, Men meat them. over their hearts. Two Men By JOSE LA MADRID ANGELES He loved his country. Yes in words Alone but failed to act. He did not know his sweat and hand Were what his big words lucked He claimed he loved his lurid Then what? The flowers and trees rwd soil? He loved not knowing who' < ,.ho. And did no fruitful toil (Another in great silence toiled unknown, by them he loved ■ J 44 Philippine Review December Princess Urduja to the. Arab By PACIFICO M. CANLAS I would still wish those boundless jays were lost to me; Those slaves of yours black and powerful Bearing gold upon their shoulders Your jewels sparkling on your shimmering robes Fleet camels trekking miles of golden sands Dusky footmen wielding sharp Damascan blades I shall not learn to love these. I still refuse your desert air Perfumed by floaters fragrant on your palms Your silvered music flutes playing atop mosaic domes Shall never win my virgin heart. Could I leave these, these lovely isles Which like my soul are virgin still? These mountains blue and silent shall be mine My bamboos whispering above my purling brooks The break of day upon my forest hills, the vagrant, call of woods My stalwart trees noisy with homing mayas I shall not leave-these for Arabian sands. Your perfumes? I have my “kampuput” blooms, my dimpling "sampagvitas ' Drooping “Hang-Hangs” magic to the morning air Singing rivers fragrant with fallen leaves in J^une I shall thirst for dew glistening—upon banana leaves. Black slaves? Your sleek Damascan swords? J have my lordly Maharlikas, more powerful than blacks Men fierce at war, spears sharper than Damascan blades Men, singing sad kundimans to the Crescent moon Men gathering white rice and camote roots From my brown earth’s bosom. Could 1 crave more for Arab chieftain braves Drifted to my shores by Forttines fickle waves? Upon these isles a virgin 1 was born Till living out my years, a virgin 1 must die. 1944 , r45 Home for Christmas Ry MAXIMO RAMOS LONG ABOUT THE MIDDLE of 1943 Gat mailed a letter to Maul, the capital of the province. Addressed jointly to Aquino, Valdez, and Villanea, three men who owned the home steads adjacent to his own, the letter urged them to come and join him in Lala. For effect Gat pointed to the hunger and misery which his friends and their families were putting up with in Maul, contrasting ttyis with the quiet abundance and the cool con tentment to be had in the homestead. The answer to this letter came in September. Gat’s friends replied that they knew how necessary it was for them to leave Maul, but the lack of •transportation and the perils atten dant to travel over the road to Lala made it impossible for them to join him. They sounded light-hearted about it, but Gat felt that a little more prodding would make them pack up. Moreover, Christmas was near ing and he counted on a happy re union in the homestead with his com rades in arms. Promptly Gat went to mail a rush ordei' with the wheelwright at Maul for an extra-large wagon, the need for which he had long felt in market ing his ever-increasing farm yield. Another letter he sent to Aquino, in closing a money order. He asked Aquino to buy him a strong Indian bull. “Hitch the bull to the wagon,” he continued, “and dump your family, the Villaneas, and the Valdezes into it. Then hightail it to Lala, and be here for Christmas. Come to Lala and be done with the dog’s life.” That letter got them. That, at any rate, added to the effect produced by the cart-load of grain, poultry, game, and other foodstuffs from the home stead which Gat had sent them earlier in the year Now Aquino went into a huddle with the other two men. They paid the wheelwright an addi tional amount to finish the wagon as quickly as he could and to make it roomy enough to hold their three fa milies and the belongings which they had to take to the jungle with them. Aquino went to purchase the finest bull in the Pantar ranch on the fol lowing day. Their houses -were rented out and their unessential gear dis posed of; their wives busied them selves with buying mosquito nets, household medicines, soap, matches, thread, arid such things which they felt would be hard to get in the jun gle. The men also bought themselves ploughs and other tools in opening up the land. “This is a lot of Christmas presents for the highway robbers,” remarked Borja, a cynical neighbour. “We hope, part of it will go through,” they replied cheerfully. In a few weeks they were ready to leave for the homestead. The men rigged up a specially tall covering for the wagon and then loaded the vehicle with their families and their wares. “On this day,” observed Aquino’s 40 Philippine 'Review Bedember . wife as the wagon’ crossed the steel . bridge which was going to start them oh the long, uncertain road to Lala, “big things began for this part of the world.” . “I hadn’t realised that,” replied' Mrs. Valdez. “December 8—the start ■of the Greater East Asia War, and now—our setting out for new worlds to conquer.” “So many things have happened since,” said Aquino. “Things like eternally rising prices and eternally., falling avoirdupois,” said VJllanea, exhibiting his loose waistband. “What are temporary difficulties like those to freedom and dignity and honour?” said’ Mrs. Valdez. The late-risen moon was a silver ship spilling cool silver over the dawn world. The silver wagon followed the silver road> which wound in and out of the silver hills. The mountain wind flowed like a thin, cool liquid, and on silver wings a nightbird flit ted over silver fields of fern and broomgrass As day-broke they passed Pahtaf. The Indian bull lowed cavernously to its haunts that it was leaving forever. From a. high-topped Moro house ' among the banana trees a rooster sent out r spurt after spurt of belli gerency. The morning breeze swept, over the river, breathing health and trailing the scent of unmoved grass. The wagon stopped at a. spring, by the road, and soon a fire was roaring, under a large kettle. Breakfast con sisted of rice gruel—the kind of preparation which had been their breakfast, lunch, and supper in Maul for months and months. Valdez and •Aquino disappeared in a clearing by the road, and shortly returned with a handful of string beans and some egg plants ; hurriedly- boiled with salt, these formed a welcome addition to the meal., Breakfast was over in a little while, and soon the bull was trotting down the pebbled road again. -Lunch consisted of the unfailing rice gruel, plus some paddy snails , which the. menfolk 'had picked up iir the rice-fields. Travel was resumed promptly after the noon meal, so that, by nightfall the' group pulled up in the barrio of Momungan. They, parked by a .house which' was Aquino’s favourite stopping-place ^before the war. They found it/ locked up, but,learned from the neighbours that the owner had evacuated months before , to his. homestead in Dalipuga; so ’ they moved on to an empty nipa shack. Momungan, a mere eighteen kilo meters from Maul, was not over abundant with cereals. . But already: here, rice cost one-third less than what it did in the capital.' They pro cured .ix gantas office, and six more of corn, and they bought chickens and pork, which the women dressed and salted to keep against hard days ahead. After they had been* in Momungan two days the women and children had sufficiently recovered from the sore muscles and. aching'joints which the jolting iii the wagon had given them.’ Early at dawi) on. the following daythe group took to the road again. The going was easier now, f hough - the road went deeper and deeper into tiger-grass and cogon. The travel* rs. made Buro-on before dusk on the. same day. ‘ Buro-on was but thirty- , eight kilometers below Maul; yet' what a .difference that' made! Here they could have, fine fresh sea-fish for the .ridiculously low price of P10a kilo, as against P200 in Maul. One , never realised till then what a little matter of transportation could mean. They purchased a goodly store of fish, which they dried at the beach and stored away. They Gpent the whole of three days in this delightful '• fishing, village, feasting on boiled barracuda and bonito, roasted pampano and mullet, oysters, and crabs with meat as .firm as copra. The men climbed the coconut palms that stood., on the shore drooping with unpicked "< 1944 Home for Christmas 47 fruit; before they resun-ed their journey, they loaded the wagon with a. hundred young nuts which they felt would be needed farther down the way where, safe drinking, water would be hard to get. From Buro-on the road went parallel • to the shore, undulating' southwest ward in-the direction of Pangil Bay and Zamboanga. To th^ir right was the blue-sweep of the inland sea; on the left the shaggy mountains were •like gigantic cattle coming down to •water. A hot day’s travel brought the party to KauSuagan, now a vil lage of charred ruins where the once cultivated land hud been taken over by weeds. Gallinules and watercocks, coots and.moorhens now nested ii the marshy paddies where rice and corn; used to be grown; miserable shacks were scattered about. “When we wake up tomorrow, said Villanea, "I’m afraid, we shall be minus some of-our things.’’ "I don’t like the Idoks of the place, myself,- but it’s more risky to keep to the road at . night,” said Aquino. “And my poor old bones must have rest from the endless rattling in the wagon,” said Villanea’s wife. Valdez -went to hide the bull and the wagqn behind a-'thick screen of bushes and piled fresh fodder before the animal. Then he took out a trusty chain which he had brought along for the purpose. Passing one end of the chain around the neck of the bull, he secured it with a. stout padlock. The other end he fastened to the axle of the wagon with another lock. "If 'that can’t save our transport,” he -said, “only God or a battleship can.” After sunset the men made a stra tegic, dispersal of their gear and pro visions, hiding these under bushes arid camouflaging them with mallows, capers, and ferns. A filling dinner .of boiled rice from . Momungan and .boiled crabs from Buro-on was then . had by all, and after that they promptly retired into a small deserted hut. ' "Now,” Aquino held an erect finger - before the children, "the robbers must not know there are deseiit folks here. The boy or girl who makes a noise tonight will walk tomorrow with his Pa, 'instead of riding in the wa gon.” "And during the rest of the jouriiey he will drink canal water instead1 of refreshing coconut water,” added Mrs. Valdez. Not- a single sound came from the hut that night. But when day broke and the men went to retrieve the things they had hidden, they found that every single item had been spirited away. Seeing the smoke of culinary activity in the evening, the thieves must have sneaked down and observed .the proceedings from well concealed vantage points, then made off with their loot during the night. However, the wagon, the bull, and the cooking utensils were safe. With out wasting tears over their loss, they picked camote leaves growing wild in he deserted patches, boiled it and called this breakfast, then re sumed their journey in haste. They made Kolambugan, twentyfive kilometers farther on, before five in the afternoon This once-prosperous town which had grown around a British lumber yard had been burned down in the early days' of the war,' and it, too, was now a ghost town. At this point the group paused to do some figuring. They had gone seventy kilometers in nine days, stop overs included. It was a hundred and ten kilometers from Maul to Lala. Take seventy kilometers from one hundred and ten, and it left them only forty more.“At the rate we’ve been going, we should-be in Lala in five or six days,” said Valdez "Today is December—say; what’s today?” asked Mrs. Aquino. No one knew, and a recapitulation of the journey had to be made. After summing.up the days during which 'they had traveled from one point to another, and adding to that the days they had- spent at each stopping-place, 48 Philippine Review December they figured that today was Decem ber 16. “December 16. Six days from to day will be December 22,’’ concluded Mrs. Aquino with-a ^bright glint in her eye. “Hurrah!” shouted all five childrentogether. “Christmas in the home stead!” “If God permits,” .cautioned Villanea and his wife. “If God doesn’t permit, we’ll still have an allowance of three days,” came the defiant answer from Romeo, Valdez’ son. “Ju-nior!” warned the boy’stmother. An inquiry at Kolambugan revealed that Mr.” Echiverri, ex-supervising teacher of Kolambugan, had retired to his farm a kilometer behind the i town. Thither they were led, and be fore long they were knocking at the gate of a comfortable farmhouse. Mr. Echiverri was some sort of a village grandee hereabouts. He was well respected even by the lawless elements and lived in this seclusion without molestation from anyone. He now’ met the weary travelers with a cordial welcome. “Rest at least two days with us,” said he. “You deserve a month’s rest after traveling so hard.” “Plenty of time to get to Lala for Christmas,” said his wife. When the two days with the Echiverris were over, travel was resumed. Not, however, before their host had restocked the wagon with enough provisions to last them till the end of the year. There was rice, corn, cassava, taro, and squash, besides su gar, salt, venison, and dried fish. But perhaps even more important than these, Mr. Echiverri’gave them a note, meant for the bad 'eggs on the road, requesting that the bearers be spared from annoyance on their way to Lala. The note was written in the Moro and Visayan tongues, and both in Arabic and Roman char acters. “That should give you safe conduct as far as Tubod, at least,” he said. The letter worked like magic. Along the stretch of wild, rarely travelled road beyond Kolambugan, armed ruf fians fell upon the travelers no less than half-a-dozen times, only to spare them after reading Mr. Echiverri’s note.. The trip to Tubod took them the better part of three days, how ever ; the rains in the preceding mon soon season had wrought havoc oh the newly constructed dirt road, making travel over it extremely difficult. Many a time the human cargo had to alight to allow the men to ’ lift the wagon over obstructions. It was De cember 21 when they finally got to Tubod. They had four days in wh’ch to make Lala, eighteen kilometers farther on, over the most uncertain part of the way, and where Echiver ri’s magic note had no more potency. At ten in the morning, before they had gone two kilometers beyond Tu bod, a score of heavily-armed toughs with long, ragged beards and evil looks stopped the wagon. For all the men’s unkempt appearance, their tight coats were of rayon fabrics of expensive weave, though badly in want of soap. They had diamond rings on their fingers, and their woolen trousers tapered down to an anticlimax of bare feet and spread toes. Their chieftain was a small mean-looking man with agile move ments. He was heavily convoyed by bwi/o-chewing men with rifles on their shoulders and revolvers and kampiIans on their waists. With a rasping voice he ordered the men, women, and children out of the wagon. The three citified men had no chance. - They each had a dull bolo, to be sure, but it would have been stupid to maljri these against' the armory of the sea soned highway pirates seven times their own number. . On being shown Echiverri’/ letter, the bandit leader tore it up. There was no choice but to leave everything and proceed to Lala on foot. Valdes however, would not let go of the bull and the wagon. “These do not belong to .us,” he said in broken Moro. “Take 1944 Home for Christmas 49 everything that is ours, but please leave us the wagon and the bull.” Without a word the chieftain hit him across the face. Cut to the quick, Valdez would have retaliated with a vicious hay-maker at the pint-sized rascal, but Aquino and Villanea had the quickness of getting hold of him before he -could further complicate matters. “Eighteen kilometers to walk to Lala, without provisions and with these five kids on our hands!” said Mrs. Villanea dolefully. “And it’s December 19, a mere six days before Christmas,” added Mrs. Valdez. “That’s a lot of time,” said Romeo. “Eighteen over six are three. Even if we go only three kilometers a day we shall be in the homestead on time for Christmas.” “If God permits,” snapped Mrs.. Villanea. But it was eighteen kilometers of miserable roads walled in on both sides by thick jungle. It was just as well that the bull was spared tne agony of pulling the loaded wagon over that path. And when they be gan to look for food, food for nine hungry mouths in this desolate wild erness, and when they found any edi bles, to prepare it lor their meals— then even Romeo became disheart ened.* They spent most of each day look ing for bamboo shoots, tops of edible fern, wild beans, plantains, and snails. When • they had secured enough grub, they cooked it in pots improvised from green bamboo joints, over fire which they kindled by rub bing two sticks together. They had also to boil water to drink, carrying it along with them in jars made of bamboo tubes. On the day they were despoiled of their means of trans portation and their remaining belong ings, they made less than two kilo meters. The second day they did three kilometers,' thanks to a cloudy skv and to their good luck in obtain-, ipg food easily. But on the third day the women and children were too exhausted to walk, and they were un able to gain a rnjeter of ground. The men, however, made use of the en forced delay by gathering enough bamboo shoots and plan tains to last the party three days. “Almost fourteen kilometers more to -Lala, the land of boiled corn and fragrant rice and roost duck,” Said Aquino that night. 1 “Tomorrow is December 22,” added his wife “We’ve averaged but a kilo meter a day.” “A kilometer a day keeps the duck sure away,” quipped Valdez. But the others were too sleepy to laugh, and scon they were snoring at each other under the tree which served as their reef. By four o’clock the following morn ing breakfast was over. They began walking at a brisk pace, determined to make up for lost time. The mon helped the youngsters by occasionally carrying them on their shoulders. By lunchtime they had passed four kilo meter posts. A short rest followed 'heir noon meal, then they walked on. again Before the party encamped for the nbfht, three kilometers more had been done. “Not a bad day’s work,” said Aqui no. “Seven kilometers, today. It leaves us less than that many more to do in two days.” “Fat chance we have to make it. I’m run Tagged,” said Mrs. Villanea. “And look at my blisters and bruises!” Mrs. Valdez broke down. “And the thorns in my soles!” joined Rose, her ten-year-old daugh ter. ! “That Gath I’d like to claw him for luring us into this miserable trap of a trail,” said Mrs. Aquino. “Keep a stiff upper lip now,” said her husband. “Gat doesn’t know the road is this bad. He has not. seen it for at least a year, for he markets his products at the post-office town north west of Lala, from where mail is sent by boat through Iligan to Maul.” The next day was December 23. It 48 Philippine Review December they figured that today was Decem ber 16. “December 16. ‘ Six days from to day will be December 22,” concluded Mrs. Aquino with-a ^bright glint in her eye. “Hurrah!” shouted all five childrentogether. “Christmas in the home stead!” “If God permits,” .cautioned Villa nea and his wife. “If God doesn’t permit, we’ll still have an allowance of three days,” came the defiant answer from Romeo, Valdez’ son. “Ju-nior!” warned the boy’s.mother. An inquiry at Kolambugan revealed that Mr.” Echiverri, ex-supervising teacher of Kolambugan, had retired to his farm a kilometer behind the i town. Thither they were led, and be fore long they were knocking at the gate of a comfortable farmhouse. Mr. Echiverri was some sort of a village grandee hereabouts. He was well respected even by the lawless elements and lived in this seclusion without molestation from anyone. He now' met the weary travelers with a cordial welcome. “Rest at least two days with us,” said he. “You deserve a month’s rest after traveling so hard.” “Plenty of time to get to Lala for Christmas,” said his wife. When the two days with the Echiverris were over, travel was resumed. Not, however, before their host had restocked the wagon with enough provisions to last them till the end of the year. There was rice, corn, cassava, taro, and squash, besides su gar, salt, venison, and dried fish. But perhaps even more important than these, Mr. Echiverri’gave them a note, meant for the bad "eggs on the road, requesting that the bearers be spared from annoyance on their way to Lala. The note was written in the Moro and Visayan tongues, and both in Arabic and Boman char acters. “That should give you safe conduct as far as Tubod, at least,” he said. The letter worked like magic. Along the stretch of wild, rarely travelled road beyond Kolambugan, armed ruf fians fell upon the travelers no less than half-a-dozen times, only to spare them after reading Mr. Echiverri’s note. The trip to Tubod took them the better part of three days, how ever ; the rains in the preceding mon soon season had wrought havoc on the newly constructed dirt road, making travel over it extremely difficult. Many a time the human cargo had to alight to allow the men to lift the wagon over obstructions. It was De cember 21 when they finally got to Tubod. They had four days in wh'ch to make Lala, eighteen kilometers farther on, over the most uncertain part of the way, and where Echiver ri’s magic note had no more potency. At ten in the morning, before t’.ey had gone two kilometers beyond Tu bod, a score of heavily-armed toughs with long, ragged beards and evil looks stopped the wagon. For all the men’s unkempt appearance, their tight coats were of rayon fabrics of expensive weave, though badly in want of soap. They had diamond rings on their fingers, and their woolen trousers tapered down to an anticlimax of bare feet and spread toes. Their chieftain was a small mean-looking man with agile move ments. He was heavily convoyed by bwi/o-chewing men with rifles on their shoulders and revolvers and kampilans on their waists. With a rasping voice he ordered the men, women, and children out of the wagon. The three citified men had no chance. - They each had a dull bolo, to be sure, but it would have been stupid to ma'jri these against' the armory of the sea soned highway pirates seven times their own number. On being shown Echiverri’/ letter, the bandit leader tore it up. There was no choice but to leave everything and proceed to Lala on foot. Valdes however, would not let go of the bull and the wagon. “These do not belong to .us,” he said in broken Moro. “Take 1944 Home for Christmas 49 everything that is ours, but please leave us the wagon and the bull.” Without a word the chieftain hit him across the face. Cut to the quick, Valdez would have retaliated with a vicious hay-maker at the pint-sized rascal, but Aquino and Villanea had the quickness of getting hold of him before- he -could further complicate matters. “Eighteen kilometers to walk to Lala, without provisions and with these five kids on our hands!” said Mrs. Villanea dolefully. “And it’s December 19, a mere six days before Christmas,” added Mrs. Valdez. “That’s a lot of time,” said Romeo. “Eighteen over six are three. Even if we go only three kilometers a day we shall be in the homestead on time for Christmas.” “If God permits,” snapped Mrs.. Villanea. But it was eighteen kilometers of miserable roads walled in on both sides by thick jungle. It was just as well that the bull was spared tne agony of pulling the loaded wagon over that path. And when they be gan to look for food, food for nine hungry mouths in this desolate wild erness, and when they found any edi bles, to prepare it ior their meals— then even Romeo became disheart ened.* They spent most of each day look ing for bamboo shoots, tops of edible fern, wild beans, plantains, and snails. When » they had secured enough grub, they cooked it in pots improvised from green bamboo joints, over fire which they kindled by rub bing two sticks together. They had also to boil water to drink, carrying it along with them in jars made of bamboo tubes. On the day they were despoiled of their means of trans portation and their remaining belong ings, they made less than two kilo meters. The second day they did three kilometers? thanks to a cloudy sky and to their good luck in obtain-, ipg food easily. But on the third day the women and children were too exhausted to walk, and they were un able to gain a meter of ground. The men, however, made use of the en forced delay by gathering enough bamboo shoots and plaafaiiis to last the party three days. “Almost fourteen kilometers more to -Lala, the land of boiled corn and fragrant rice and roast duck,” said Aquino that night. 1 “Tomorrow is December 22,” added his wife “We’ve averaged but a kilo meter a day.” “A kilometer a day keeps the duck sure away,” quipped Valdez. But the others were too sleepy to laugh, and scon they were snoring at each other under the tree which served as their reef. By four o’clock the following morn ing breakfast was over. They began walking at a brisk pace, determined to make up for lost time. The mon helped the youngsters by occasionally carrying them on their shoulders. By lunchtime they had passed four kilo meter posts. A short rest followed 'heir noon meal, then they walked on. again Before the party encamped for the P’vht, three kilometers more had been done. “Not a bad day’s work,” said Aqui no. “Seven kilometers, today. It leaves us less than that many more to do in two days.” “Fat chance we have to make it. I’m run Tagged,” said Mrs. Villanea. “And look at my blisters and bruises!” Mrs. Valdez broke dawn. “And the thorns in my soles!” joined Rose, her ten-year-old daugh ter. ! “That Gath I’d like to claw him for luring us into this miserable trap of a trail,” said Mrs. Aquino. “Keep a stiff upper lip now,” said her husband. “Gat doesn’t know the road is this bad. . He has not, seen it for at least a year, for he markets his products at the post-office town north west of Lala, from where mail is sent by boat through Iligan to Maul.” The next day was December 23. It 60 Philippinte Review December rained almost all morning, and they could not start till after lunch. They walked in the mud for two kilometers, then retired to a deserted grass hovel by the road, rain-sOaked and travelworn. “We can still get there by tomor row evening, can’t we, Pa?” inquired Ro'meo appealingly. “If God per mits?” “And if Rose thinks about the thorns less and shakes her legs more,” replied the lad’s father. But the weather took a turn for the worse on the morning before Christmas. The wind tore off the branches of the trees, lightning zigzagged over the jungle, while the roaring thunder shook the world But on they walked in the raging storm. It was the final lap of. a very trying journey, and even Mrs. Villanea was determined to get the trip done that day. Lunuiiime found them passing Kilometer Post 106 They paused to : at their remaining stock of bamboo shoots boiled with camote leaves, then off they went again. Finally came what the three men had agreed to keep as a pleasant sur prise for the women and kids. At Kilometer Post 108 they walked onto a first-class asphalt - road, wide and even and glossy-black in the rriin. “Don't tell me we’re about to reach Manila,” said Mrs. Valdez. “It’s only the road from*Gat’s door to Baroy,” said her husband. “Baroy?” “The market town where Gat and Tuazon sell their farm produce. Thia road goes past the homestead. ■’Before twilight the children were excitedly making guesses whether the next clearing would not be the home stead at last. “1 hear Moro gongs!” Rose soon announced. “I bet that’s a ’folk dance in some Christmas celebration.” ■ “I can smell roast duck and venison already,” seconded Romeo. "And the fragrance of boiled young corn,” said little Nita, her imagina tion getting the better of her. “Ah,” sighed Villanea at last. “It has'been a difficult journey,, this!” “We’ve been on the roa< seventeen long days since December 8,” put in his wife “What difficulties we have met!” “Don’t let’s be a kill-joy now. We have arrived,” said Aquino. “There go children’s .voices zing ing ‘Silent Night,”’, said Rose. “Say, men,” said Valdez, “I propose that we enter the scene singing We three kings of Orient are. I alone present unto Gat and his wife three gifts;’ namely —” ' and here he pointed to his shivering, mud-spat tered daughter Rose and to Romeo— “cold, and dirt, dnd Frankenstein.” But neither of his two children heard his kidding. Both bad joined the others in a full-throated cfiorus, singing “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing!” Their voices had lost all trace of weariness arid carried clear through the storm »and the jungle shadows to the cheerful warmth of the hearth in the homestead. 1944 51 The Fence Sitter's Hour of Decision By SIMON MAKALINAW np J HIS IS WRITTEN DURING A lull after three of the most exciting weeks we have experienced in our neighbourhood since the outbreak of" the present war. The excitement. in question is none other than the bril liant victory achieved by the Imper ial Japanese Forces over the Ame rican marauders who attacked Ja .pan’s inner defenses cn the pretext of liberating the Philippines. A1-, most 200 American warcraft of all categories were put out of 'commis sion, mare than 60 of them‘'sunk; not to mention the hundreds of aircraft and almost 20,000 Americans lifted among the casualties. The Ameri can losses niay double by the time ■we go to press. But we are not allowing the recent Japanese victories.to turn our heads We are in no holiday mood. On ‘the contrary we are in a bellicose frame of mind. We are apt to be rough with some people. Even if we step on their toes,, we will not be stopping to apologise. We are far from believing that the recent military engagements off Taiwan and the Philippines were an indication . that the end of the war is in sight. .We think they were but preludes suggestive of the magni tude of the battles yet to come. In other words, although history may pass better judgement, from where we are today, we do not think that, •in spite of the grand scale of the air and naval engagements that took place near our shores, they can be considered as having been the de cisive battles of the present war. That is why we feel we cannot af ford to be in a festive mood. Nevertheless, we do think that, for many Filipinos, the great victory won by the Imperial Japanese For ces in the last ’ few weeks should bear a special significance It gives many of us a very good opportunity in which to take stock of ourselves and to make up our minds, once and lor all, as to exactly where we stand as individuals, and as Filipinos, and as Asians. We would like to help.them make' tip their minds, and ir. doing so we bring before them two very impor tant factors. One is the military an gle. We believe it is about time for them to properly evaluate the abi lity of the Japanese military leaders to conduct successful campaigns, whether oh land, on sea, or in the air, against an; opposition -and whatever the odds. It is time, also to properly evaluate the constantly repeated words of the Japanese people that they are prepared to carry on the war, no matter how prolonged, until victory is finally theirs. The leaders at the helm of the Japanese Empire knew what they were doing when they decided to take up the challenge of the An52 Philippine Review December gio-Americans for a showdown. Such a matter as the immense pro ductive power of the enemy coun tries was never a military secret as far as the Japanese were concerned. * All that had been figured in their close calculation. If the trouble is taken to study the long history of the Japanese people it will be found that they are no amateurs in the art of warfare. We should- give serious thought to this point and thereby renew our faith in the strong chan ces Japan has, of coming out on top when the smoke of the Greater East Asia War eventually clears. The second factor we would like to mention is perhaps more import ant than the first in so far as it ap plies to the Filipino people because they are supposed to be aspiring for independence. We mean the cardinal necessity of any people desiring to command respect, to possess some thing solid in the way of character. They must have confidence in them selves-as well as the will to fight for their convictions. And the re-' cent Japanese victory should have served to hammer some character, into them. Nothing of any consequence is achieved or won by merely wishing for it or talking about it. It is not enough to be able to anticipate alt the questions and to know all the answers. One does not acquire dig nity by simply appearing worldly wise. An individual is respected by either what he really is or what he can really do, besides talk. The same thing applies to a nation of people. The outward appearance of anything is not necer warily a criterion of its intrinsic worth. There is little dig nity for a people in forever existing as colonial subjects, no matter 'how intelligent they may be. The recent Japanese victories should fire the enthusiasm of the Filipino people to strengthen the courage of their con viction that they shall never, allow themselves to be dominated by alien powers. An inefutable saying goes, that time and tide waits for no man. But. the trouble is, the perennial fence sitters, those who are neither fish nor fowl, evidently do not real so the truih of the saying. In their fancied' imagination they picture to themselves the easy, indepen dence is not worth preserving. In their fancied imagination they pic ture to themselves the easy indepen dence they think they might have had if the Greater Easl Asia War did not come until 1346. But that is like King Canute trying to held hack the waves. Or to speak in colloquial terms, it is like in a baseball game to ask for a fourth strike because the championship happens to be at stake. Such infantile thinkers pre sumably expect the whole world to suspend its activities until the Phil ippines got its American indepen dence, which is a dubious enough ’Supposition considering the fact that the United States had hemmed and hawed and kept putting it off for forty years with the alibi that the Filipino people we're incapable of self-government. It is our opinion that the recent military operations that transpired in and near the Philippines should serve to make such idle dreamers snap out of their dream of a make-be»icve world and catapult them into the world of bold reality. We would like to speak plainly to that recalcitrant group still sitting smugly on the fence, and we speak in behalf of those comprising the op posite group who have shown them selves as true Filipinos and endeavor ed to maintain a steadfast belief in the justice of our cause and have really contributed their mite in one way or another. We feel that we can no longer tolerate the continued va cillating attitude of the pseudo-Filipinos who have done nothing but contribute eloquent lip service and cleverly pretended to go through the 1944 The Fence-Sitter’s Hour of Decision 53 motions. We feel that we should waste no more of our time or sym pathy. They have been coddled long enough. We feel that it would be better for all concerned if they were bundled up and tagged and shipped to Leyte now, to share the same des tiny that is awaiting the Americans who have landed there. That would be disposing of the proverbial two birds with' one stone. It would eli minate them from distracting those who are seriously trying to do hon est work, and at the same time pro vide the discontented with their long awaited opportunity to join their American comrades who have just arrived. The pseudo-Filipinos should real ise that their hour of decision has also arrived. Three years have passed since the outbreak of the war; three years in which to grow up and to mature. And three yea^s in an age such as we are living cor responds to thirty years of any oth-r age. So to the fence-sitters we say it is high time for serious thinking. But if they cannot make up their minds or' cannot reconcile them selves into an active, constructive participation in the history making event that is the Greater East Asia War, we will leave them to their thoughts with a parting reminder. In the words of Oswald Spengler, that great German philosopher, if they cannot make their own decision, history is certain to decide their fate for them. Foe Supply Line Menaced'-* The Japanese air force is daily pounding the rear supply bases of the enemy in the Pacific The main supply bases for the American units engaged in heavy"hostilities with the Japanese on Leyte are Sydney and Melbourne, Australia respectively about 3,500 and 4,000 miles distant from the island in straight'lines. Act ually, transports carrying war supplies are assumed to pass the Admiralty islands and also Hollandia, New Guinea or Saipan in the Marianas group on the way to Leyte Gulf. It is understood that each American troop needs 16 tons of ammunition, arms and provisions a month. The Ameri cans on the Leyte front will thus use roughly 1,500,000 tons of war supplies a month, as it is estimated that the seven divisions in Leyte each comprise around 15,000 men. American large-sized transports at, present entering ports in the regions of Tacloban and Dulag range from 4,000 to 6,000 tonners in gross weight. Even if the enemy employs large-sized vessels only, he will have to allot more than 300 craft for the purpose. A daily average of at least 30 ships carrying war materials should enter the ports of Leyte which are under his? com mand to maintain a constant supply. These ships will generally take from 13 to 20 days to reach Leyte from Sydney, a voyage that in peacetime re quired from 12 to 13 days. 54 December The Face By N. V. M GONZALEZ up without so much ‘as face, and hade his wife MORNING, bed, dressed washing his good-bye *'1’11 be back (in the afternoon,” he told her. Foi he knew it would take him only two hours by train to get to San llidefonso and he could, to be sure, return to the city that same day. But that he could never make the trip seemed foreordained. About' three o'clock a.m., he had been awak ened by a dream and afterwards he, had stayed awake for some time. A cricket had began chirping some where. “A premonition of some sort?” The thought crossed his mind. In the end, of course, he dis missed the cricket, and forthwith slept a little more. Now, in the chill morning air, he hur.ried to the street'car stop, which was about a kilometer away from the apartment where he lived. His prog ram for the day was set: he would go to the railroad station and try to get a ticket for San Ildefonso, where his brother-in-law lived. Free entry of the cereal had been allowed by the authorities, and he could well bring in a sack, Abad thought. He was thirty and a Ph. I). He had earned it on the basis of a thesis entitled “The Monetary System in the Philippines Prior to the Spanish Regime.” And there was something of the poet in him, too. His journey, therefore, was'bound.to mean a great deal. His scholarly mind might hot have approved of it at all, but his .heart anticipated the experience about to unfold. In any case, he could feel his spirit agitating as it were, and eagerly looking forward to the prospect of seeing the country side. It seemed as though the native heath, like a powerful magnet, was drawing him with a certain inviolate spell. Now the sack of rice he hoped to procure from ‘an accommodat ing brother-in-law in San Ildefonso might well have been a mere pretext. Although it was only five in the morning, the North bound street car was already full. And the conduc tor, a good-natured young chap, was: making jokes at the expense of the women passengers: “Ah, 1 see, you’re aH homeward bound! High time you are! ’Tis high time, lady-folks!” And through the street car win dows the chilly air of December , flooded in, making people turn up their shirt collars. At length the street car stopped and Abad alighted, as did the ma jority of his felloW passengers, lor this was the North Station at last: 1P44 THE F ACE uo The driveway towards the station building proper was scarcely lighted 'and already a multitude had gath ered at this early hour. All were waiting for the station gates to open. “So it’s true!” Abad said to him self. “It’s true—what they use to say in the office! Some people ac tually sleep here at the station in order to be able to buy tickets for the train journey in the morning!” And his naive, ivory-towerish mind was excited over the scene. The crowd not only waited for the statioii gates to open but also minded for other things. To begin with, trading of some sort was going on hereabouts. While the long lines extending from the station gates to the street had been formed, hund reds sat on the grass under the acacia trees, hugging their goods. A babel emanated from the assem blage. .The station grounds had acquired the living atmosphere of a market place, with the difference that the smell of fish and chicken dung was. nowhere in the air. One could swear, on the contrary, that there hung about a curious mixture, if there be such, compounded of hu man bodies and the crisp December breeze. All these affected Paulino Abad in no incurious way. A tall, though slouchy fellow, with a tendency to stand like a question mark, he could well see over the heads of the multi tude; and he felt a strong, puzzling* affinity with the crowd. It seemed he had missed this scene for so long. He now put down the collar of his jacket the better to feel the invigor ating breeze brushing against his cheek and titillating the nape of his neck. Warmth pervaded his entire being; his cheeks flushed with a curious ,iny. He unbuttoned his shirt, so that the wind would cool his breast With Its soothing, blissful touch. “Come on,” some one was saying, obviously addressing a companion. And Abad turned, just about in time to be confronted by a man. The lat ter then asked him: “Can you tell me, please, whether the Cabanatuan train has left?” “I can’t say. I’m taking that train myself,” Abad replied. “Since yesterday the traffic haa been exceedingly heavy. There’s been an unholy rush for tickets,” the. man said. “There 1 Look!” Like floats of a fishing net being dropped upon a " choppy sea, heads bobbed up and down. The crowd rolled in a wave,/this way and that, at first uncertainly, and then with the decided intention to push for ward as close as possible to one of the station entrances. The men had seen an opening made and several people had slipped in, causing no little envy on the part of the others. To the annoyance, however, of the peace officer posted at the entrance, the crowd drove forward harder than ever. The officer, thoroughly flabbergasted by now, blew his whistle and motioned the people to stop He tried to bar their approach with his outspread arms. Meanwhile,. Paulino Abad had joined the crowd. Prudence would have dictated sternly against it, but all the same he had stepped down as it were from the pedestal his old self had occupied He had become one with the common tao, and he liked* the feeling • It thrilled him. Only one thought predominated in his mind; and that was to keep from falling upon the next fellow’s back lest he should pick a quarrel Three .pepce officers, inslead 6f one as be fore, now stood there endeavouring to keep order. 66 Philippine Review December “Sit down, all of you!” one of them commanded. The group, slightly puzzled, vacil lated. “Sit down, 1 say! Sit down!” And the peace officer got out a stick and swang it in the air. The men stooped, bent their knees, and finally sat down. That is, they assumed a half-squatting position, which was under the circumstances the most convenient thing to do. They were careful to reform the lines they had made willynilly, ex tending from the center of the sta tion grounds as far as the cement pavement about two meters from the entrance. ' “What sort of men are you?” the officer shouted. “Here you wait all night for the station to sell your tickets, and how well you behave!” There was silence. The men sat and dropped their heads. Then, sud denly, voices of women were heard. It was only then that Pauiino Abad became aware that women were around Towards his left the wo men had gathered They were exchanging catcalls and profuse and colourful banter. “Silence!” one of the peace officers said, blowing his whistle “She’s been crushed!” some one shouted, hearing a woman’s scream. “Silence! Let’s have some order here!” Whistle and cries now mingled in the air. And, just then, in order to take advantage of the contusion, the men from the right drove forward to gain the entrance door. They pushed forward this time with greater deter mination than before. There was a scramble as they approached the cement pavement. “Order! Order!” cried one ol the peace officers. “And here’s some thing for you if you don’t watch out!” He forthwith struck right and left with the metal chain that had held his whistle to his shirt. He flayed at the crowd, even chasing away those that appeared to fight back. There was no telling whom he hit, for he struck blindly, partly to gratify his access of madness and partly to impress* upon the crowd the discipline it sorely needed. Nevertheless, the men pushed for ward in a fierce, mad rush. Daylight had not yet come. In the half dark of the station grounds, the commotion increased. The mad dened peace officer rushed forth from time to time to castigate bis tormentors. As though a giant scythe were being swung over their heads, the men cowered and pushed, and shrieks rent the air. Paulino Abad had long since lost hope getting into the station and buying his ticket. He had become one of the mob, and a sense of pride warmed his heart. He felt that the blood that coursed in his veins was no humbler than that in those of the others. He felt curiously vain and pleased. But he had been hurt. He had got his taste of that metal whistle chain converted into a whip He could feel the welt which the blow had laid upon his cheek. He touched the welt once more. Yes, it was there. It smarted under the touch of his forefinger. Were it light enough, he would have raised his finger to his eyes to ascertain whether the cut bled or no. He wished that it would bleed. Strangely enough, he felt that this would be the affirmation he needed somehow to make the • ex 1944 The Face 57 perience a piece of truth which nothing could ever falsify. Things had happened as they should, he felt. And yet, all of a sudden, anger and hate seethed within him. And for want of some thing to identify as the cause of the emotion, he thought of the metal whistle chain, then of the man who had used it. *‘I must remember that man! ‘ I must remember his face as long as I live?7 he vowed to himself. Up to this moment he had not left the mob. All the better then. The peace officer with the metal whistle chain stood there near the entrance door. Abad had the opportunity he wanted. He looked long at the face and did not lift his stare until he was sure that each and every feature' of the man’s face had been imprinted in his mindIt was scarcely seven o’clock. And it occurred to Abad that he was, of all things, exceedingly hungry. It was only then that he remembered he had intended to breakfast at his brother-in-law’s house in Snr Ilde fonso. He laughed at how things had turned. Now reminded once more of his breakfast, he was fa scinated by the idea of forgoing with the thing altogether. But no, he had still time to spare. A decent break fast at a downtown restaurant, fol lowing which he’d report to office for work... No sense losing a day’s work... And no sooner thought than done. Some fifteen minutes later, ne alighted from his street cai at the Rizal Avenue and Carriedo corner. From here he walked down as far as R. Hidalgo. For some reason, the place had a peculiar at traction for him. Now, since he had become one of the people, he should breakfast where his brothers did. And so' thinking lie stepped into an eating shop. In the shop were three peorie besides tfie owner and waiter, both of whom were Chinamen Paulino Abad ordered a cup of coffee and. by way of celebrating himself, added a piece of bread with a bit of mus.covado jelly to his- belated meal. The coffee soon warmed his stom ach, and he dunked his bread into his cup He ate leisurely, as though all was well with him and the world. Then, as he was about to leave the cafe, he became aware of the pre sence of another person in the place. He could see the face in the mirror near the counter, for most Chinese eating places are profusely decorated 'With mirrors, as though to give testi mony on how a meal had improved one’s well-being. And Paulino Abad , suddenly recognised the face he saw. He looked at it intently. It was the very same face: the low-bridged nose, the thick lips, the high ch<-ek hones and the eyebrows-quite set far .apart, thick and unshapely—the features were- all there He took a ,second look, and was certain that this was the face he had cursed in his heart, the face he would hate all the years of his life. And except for one detail —the cut which the metal whistle chain had made—he could have sworn it was not his face. The realisation came to him in a flash He ran away from the shop, like one possessed. E8 December If I Had a Million By BERNARDINO RONQUILLO T JI HEREISAPLACEIN Manila to which we ca repair con veniently whenever we are famished, physically as weH-as spiritually. It is not a place of worship, mind you, with a canteen somewhere for com municants. It is a cafe —a cafe filled invariably with a milling .crowd, .to bacco smoke, and the stimulating smell of coffee. The coffee is good, with or without cream; and the' girls are pretty? Beggars tug at your sleeves and ask for the crumbs and the dregs in your cup. Once you take your first sip, however, you begin re flecting on contemporary life, espe cially that phase of it that has .< no thing to do with the survival of peo ple like you and me. There is some thing in the pride of the humble bill of fare and the no-tipping service that sets the mind of homespun thinkers like us to. dreaming. At the FFRM canteen there is a re-, cord crowd daily waiting to be served their coffee and coco pudding or cas sava cookies. Many of these-people subsist? on just this diet. They take their breakfast and lunch, with a thankful look in their eyes. The.daily crowd is more than three times the full seating capacity of the canteen. But everybody, if he has enough pa tience, can be served because all custom°rs simply stand around the ta bles This is a new innovation-in res taurant operation, a brilliant idea which dawned on Federation officials after more than tw,o years of public service; it was adopted.by the FFRM canteen with the purpose of accom modating mor/? customers and at the - same time eliminating the “standby" or what are professionally known in to'day’s business ’circles- as “biiy-andsell” people dealing in- anything from jewelry or refrigerators to somebody else’s furniture or pair of pants. There are still quite a number trying to sell other people’s watches or houses, or some automobile or truck they have not yet seen; but now they have to talk business hurriedly whre sipping their cup of coffee as slowly as possible. ’ On one of those occasions when the coffee was particularly good my companion reflected aloud: - “If I had a million.. .well, i£J had al-..< i 20.0 l0.000 now, I could bring prices and living costs- down.” This in an inspired ton? that waxed elo quent with each sip from the steam ing cup. “Aw, heck,” I observed, "If you had a million you won’t be standing with me here in this joint. . Imagine, you and me would have to wait for cof fee for half an hour.” “Only a quarter of an . hour,” he corrected-. “Oh, well, you have got to be patient. Look at the crowd. Any way ... where were we ?’’ “If you had a million.. .20 million.” “Yes, 20 million. And- don’t inter rupt until 1 outline to you my whole idea in a nutshell.” I smiled skep tically, but sympathetically. After all, he practically. paid me to listen to him. He continued: If I had 20 million I coqld do something decisive enough to bring down prices and minimise the un wieldy burden of rising living costs. 1 could help mitigate the hardships caused by the seemingly visible short If I Have a,Million 59 1944 ages in foodstuffs and the consequent jacking up of prices that play havoc with the pocketbook of the' highestpaid mental, intellectual or manual worker. By the. way,- do you notice that there is actually no food short-, age to Speak of? Well, anyway, not if we have in mind ;such countries in Europe,'China or other places ravaged by war for some'time now. Look at .our sidewalks—they are cluttered .up .with food vendors selling anything from peanut to -hot dogs (they are “-“genuine” dogs, too). The only ques tion which is really very serious is the price tagged by man to man’s prime ' requirement—too excessive, indeed, and rather out of proportion actual status of available sup plyIn going into this venture I might not be. able to live comfortably enough as some people with 20 million or more could, because of my idea is to practically throw away this money— .but very slowly and sensibly, to my own wayvof thinking. ,n other words, . I’d like to be a philanthropist in a unique way. I have an idea which -may sound stupid, but it has some business points and sense quite dif ferent from the ideas that most financiers and businessmen have. That’s wfiy yo,u would probably cal) me a fool. Well, the general- idea is I’d be will ing to lose this 20 million in business, -if by so doing I could help decisively in bringing down general living costs to the level of the purchasing capacity of the masses I’d invest this 20 million in prime commodities and foodstuffs and make these prime articles available, to the people at least at cost, or at a loss if need be. Let’s go down to figures, broadly and roundly. There ate abopt 200.000 .. families in Manila representing some ' 1,000.000 people, If I sold prime commodities, to these families at cost or at a slight loss. I would be in a position to feed the city of .Manila with my 20 million, basing an aver age family’s food budget at P100 a day. A family in actual practice, would need about P200 daily to do some marketing now, but if -a big cor poration like mine, which could af ford to Imeak even ’ of operate at a loss, would do the marketing for them, the daily budget of .that family could be cut down to half. I would invest 10 million in the restaurant business. I’d -run' a chain of restaurants or have canteens like that of the FFRM all over Mahila. If each restaurant or canteen would require only-about P100,000 daily as operating capital. I could have around 100 of these eating" places in Manila, enough. t‘o cater to at least half of the city’s population a day, or enough to drive other operators out of business unless they come down close to the rates I charge. At the rates I would-charge, I would probably just break even or lose a little; the other operators at present could actually rtiake some 40 per cent or more profit If they just cut down their profits-by half, zhev might still remain in business and I_ would have won my point and gone far enough where all control measures to date have not Perhaps you could appreciate the point better if I told you that the FFRM, the rates of whose canteen and store are lower than anywhere outside, continues to make money. The Federation, I heard, declared an other dividend for the past quarter and reported some profit last month. You go to a Chinese or Filipino res taurant outside- and for a cup of cof fee and cake you will have to spend some P30 or mdre: for cof fee and two cookies or pudding here you pay no more than Pl5 You get- hot waffles here for P10: outside, they charge yo.u P12 and up And yet the FFRM is still raking in reasonable profits. Can you. imagine how far I could go if I refused to make a profit or actually lost money with my 100 can teens all over Manila? You’d probably say the FFRM gets its supplies cheaper than the othqr 60 Philippine Review December restaurants Generally, there is not. much difference here; the FFRM also buys from' the black market part of its •’equirements On the other hand, some of, the Chinese restaurant oper ators probably do their blackmarketing at a better bargain. They have been in the business for some time and have better connexions and wider facilities in the procurement of their requirements in foodstuffs and other prime commodities. Now, the other 10 million I would put in the chain store business, selling prime commodities to the public— something dike the FFRM store. If I had 100 of these stores, I could even probably run the FFRM itself and its member retailers out of busi ness, for I heard they, too, have been making good profits. I’ll make it un profitable for market retailers and sidewalk vendors to do business. Should there be an air-raid, and all other dealers raised their prices by 100 per cent or more, I’d cut down . mine instead and make my competi tors look ridiculous. My competitors would probably accuse me of cut-throat tactics for all I care. I would rather be with the masses than have the goodwill of a few profiteers. With my capital I could practically corner the market in a perfectly legal way. I’d see to it that no one should run me out of business. I’d do the retailing myself through the chain stores and sales should be on a ration basis. There should be • enough to take care of the 200,000 families if each family had to be given P50 worth of prime commodities daily to start with. What about the many retailers and store owners whom I’d drive out of business. They could probably shift their energy to more productive ef forts, to the creative instead of the speculative. They cou’d undoubtedly dn more good by producing and creating rat?.; than by wasting the nation’s wealth and the nation’s erfergy and very life through des tructive speculation. Now, you’d say I’m crazy by in vesting my 20 million wastefully. I .know it somebody else had that 20 million he would want to double it, or hol'd on to it and do nothing for himself a.nd his starving fellow men. But I won’t exactly waste my 20 mil lion. 1 would be losing it sei^sibly and usefully by bringing down living costs of the heavily burdened con suming public. In other words, I’d be succeeding where the government with all its expensive control ma chinery has failed so far because the government itself has not been will ing to do, what I would do if 1 had the 20 million. Instead of giving away 20 million in pointless philan thropy or more than that in relief from time to time, I would be losing it gradually in business—unprofitable in terms of monetary returns but very profitable in terms of suffer ings saved and goodwill gained. Thus my 20 millions are invested in our nation’s welfare, in our na tion’s destiny. My 20 million mone tary loss would be nothing compared to what is actually being lost in terms of the people’s energy and well being, and the nation’s health and very life which is now at stake due to the vicious and destructive specu lation and profiteering. .If 1 lost only P10,000 a day, it would take about 6 years for me to go broke. If I lost P100,000 a day, I would not be penniless until after 6 months. By then I would have served my purpose and succeeded where all others have failed. “Sounds like big talk,” I commented when I saw that he had about fin ished, smiling whimsically but thoughtfully. Thefe may not have been enough food in my system, but there certainly was plenty of food for thought in what he said, I reflected. If my friend had 20 million? A hypothetical and very improbable matter, you would say. Nonetheless, it contains a challenging suggestion that our numerous nouveaux riches ma; pick up and help realised. 1944 (Christmas tUrssagr frum She Arrljbtafinp nf Manila In the history of the world no man has been so universally known and so ardently loved by those who knozv Him as the Lora Jesus Christ, true God and true Man. Lt is well for us to keep in mind that He was not only God but assumed a perfect nature so as to dignify our nature, to teach us, to console us and to show us the road of bravery and, if needs be, of suffering. . He was bom of the Virgin Mary, His Immaculate Mother, and we observe His Nativity, on the 25th of December. With the passage of another year, we, my dear brethren, tuish to cele brate the birthday of Christ, who has given us the means of possessing- peace, if we are only faithful to His teachings. For the object of God's incarnation, after His atonement for sin to the Divinity, was to give us peace, contentment and joy in this tvorld, and afterwards an eternity of bliss in Paradise. Hence He is called the Prince of Peace, and when the angels came from Heaven on the first Christmas morning to do homage to the newly born King, their canticle was: “Glory to God in the highest: and on earth, peace to men of good will.” So our plain duty is to give glory to God, by obeying His trill and commandments, and if we do so, we shall have peace, in our own souls even though we have to suffer, for according to St. Paul, “the sufferings of this world are not to be compared to the glory that is to come” for those who obey God's law and are faithful to the end. 62 December News Highlights Local T i 0 A GOOD MANY CITIZENS of the Philippine Republic, the most significant piece of news in Novem ber was the creation of a new con trol organisation to take charge ol the procurement and distribution of rice Thn new control body was na mod the Rice and Corn Administra tion, • r Ricoa. ' i he Ricoa super sedes the old Bigasang Bayan It differs from the Biba in probably one important aspect: the Japanese are aiding ' the Ricoa adminis-' tration. The Biba replaced the Narig which was jointly adminis tered by Filipinos and Japanese of ficials The Naiuc was dissolved, shortly after Philippine indepen dence was proclaimed. The Biba was- then organised, managed by Filipino personnel. Well-informed quarters claim that the old wartime Nawc was successful as a control organisation because it had the back ing of the Japanese Military Admi nistration. Withdrawal ol that backing, plus such factors as irregu lar trading practice, weakened the enforcement activities of that con trol body. Complete and absolute control of the procurement and distribution of rice and corn and their by-products was in mid-November given by Pre sident Laurel to the Ricoa. The Ricoa is headed by Minister of Eco nomic Affairs Pedro Sabido. The Ordinance which created the RIcoa states that it will have con trol and supervision over procure ment and distribution, price-fixing, ’apportionment of the share, of the farmers7,' proprietors and mill opera tors, control of rice mills, and autho rity to search for hoarded staple pro ducts. The Ricoa is expected to solve the people’s most serious problem by stabilising the price of the main cereal and bucking up its policies with sufficient for. e. Harvest got under way in the rice-produ< >ng areas of the Philippines late i’r> October, and was in full stfing in mid-November. The Ricoa is expected, to procure the bulk of the purchasable rice supply in the Philippines, mill, store and distr’bute it to the people be fore the end of this yea*. As of the last week of November, old rice was quoted at P330 and new rice at P250 per ganta in Manila’s black market. - The price of the cereal in the rice producing provinces is, on an ave rage, 40% less. In his capacity as Chief Delegate of the President and Inspector-Gene ral of the Martial Law, Minister Teofilo Sison, late in November, inform. ed military governors that among the acts regarded as crimes against the Republic are the following: (1) spreading of false information about the Republic of the Philippines, (2) wilful obstruction cf government activities, (3) sabotage, (4) harbor ing of enemy spies, (5) sheltering' and protection of enemy troops, (6) giving of any form of aid, material 1944 News Highlights 63 or otherwise, to the enemy, (7) com munication with the enemy by any means, (8) listening to enemy broadcast. American planes that raided Ma nila on November 13, resorted to what the Tribune indignantly termed “enemy terror bombing tactics.” Residential sections of Manila were bombed and strafed. Hardest hit were the districts of San Nicolas, Intaamuros, Paco, Pandacan, Ermita and Sampaloc. Low-flying planes almost touched rooftops, scaring noncombafant Manilans. The Arch bishop’s palace received a direct hit. Irreplaceable documents housed in the archives of the pa'.ace were da maged. Upwards of 100 persons were believed killed and many civi lians injured. War in the Pacific War developments in November proved^ Japan’s” clear-cut victories in China, in Pacific waters, and on Leyte. In China, Japanese rorccs finally closed in on the .elaborate air fort ress of Kweilin, the main base the 14th U. S. Air Force in China. The fall of Kweilin had been expected for weeks. Major-General Chennault and his men had in fact blown up three first-class airfields that mil lions of coolies and millions of Ameri can dollars built in before evacua ting it some weeks befort it actually fell into Japanese hands The Ja panese knifed their way from three directions and get the vailed city of Kweilin and the 31st army of Chung king that tried fUtih-ly to hold it The fall of Kweilin means that Ja pan has finally added one important link to the chain thal connects Ja panese-occupied areas from Man-, choukuo through North China, down to Indo C hina and Svcnan It also means that the 14th U. S. Airforce has been < isidcrably weakened and will have Jo conduct its raids on Ja pan and Japanese shipping and supply lines from ^it bases located farther in China’s southwest. Tall mountain ranges separate the Japa nese armies from beleaguered Chung; king, seat of Chiang Kai-shek’s go vern ment Last November there was talk of moving, the threatened capital to some other place Chiang Eai-shek’s government late in No vember suffered a shake-up brought about by American pressure. The Minister of War, Ho Ying Chin, was replaced by C neral Chen Cheng; while H. H. Kung. Minister of Fi nance, was replaced by his assistant, 0. K. Yui. i Qn Leyte, the U. S. 24th Divis^n was last month reported eocircWd, so that part of the 32nd division had to be sent from Carig.'.ro to Culasian point to reenforce the badly battered enemy troops in the ?ectoi west of Carigara Intensified Japanese bom bardment dealt death-blows on the Americans, on both the reenfornrmts and the trapped Americans, whose supply lines have practically been cut off. The Japanese have been conducting daring attacks right within enemy lines, causing con siderable damage to the Ameri cans. The enemy was able >o 'and a few reenforcements in Ahuyog, which moved west to Baybay. The progress of the fighting on Leyte in dicates that the Americans are slow ing down their so-called offensive owing to stiff resistance. The Ame ricans lande'd- on ' October 20 count ing on an inilial strength .of 3 divisions which, up to late last month, was increased '.o 7. Japanese air attack.; on the supply line of the Americans has .limited the landing of reenforcements on Leyte American troops are thus confronted with the old problem of 64 Philippine Review December maintaining a lengthening supply line rendered precarious by incom.plete control of sea lanes-and islands dotting • these lanes. Arms and supplies for the' Americans are re ported being ransported to Leyte by transport planes, indicating the difficulty of sending supplies by seacraft. Needless to say, war materiel transferred in this manner from bases thousands of miles away amounts to only a trickle. The American task force east of the Philippines suffered a heavy blow November 18 when the Japa nese airforce sank two cruisers, and heavily damaged one aircraft car rier, one I attl^ship, and four trans ports. Four American transports in Leyte Gulf were heavily damaged and set ablaze by intrepid Japanese airmen that body-crashed on their objectives. Intrepid day and night attacks of Japanese air and ground forces on American positions on Morotai have resulted in. the crippling of four out of six airbases taken over by the Americans when they landed on the island in September 15. From Nov ember 1 to 29, the Japanese set ablaze 130 and damage 114 American planes. The strategic location of Morotai has been utilised by the Americans in their Leyte landing operations. Re lentless Nippon attacks have consider ably weakened American positions on the island. Meanwhile, the Jap anese are pouring in reenforcements to drive out the one division of American troops holding the island. • • • War in Europe On the western front in Europe, the British 2nd and the American 1st and 9th armies tried to break through near Aachen hut were repulsed. A few, sectors changed hands several times, indicating the severity of the fight ing. Three allied armies were able to advance five miles northeast of Aachen in a drive on the plains of Cologne, despite heavy German resistance. Dosendorf, however, fell again in German hands after it was captured by General Pat tens’ American 3rd Army Part of Metz has been taken by an allied army, while de Gaullist French troops reached the Rhine after breaking through the Burgundy Gap. Four of the six main passes through Vosges to the Rhine were taken by French units and the American 7th Army. On the eastern front, the Soviets are reported to have ’dvanced to ward Luchene, communications center on the Hungarian-Sloyak frontier, while farther to the south in Hungary, other Soviet forces cap tured Gyongyos, 40 miles northeast of Budapest. ---------------- ------- PHILIPPINE REVIEW-----------------------December 1944 Published by the PHILIPPINE PUBLICATIONS. Manila. F. B. 1CAS1ANO, Editor. JOSE LUNA CASTRO, Associate Editor. Editorial office, Publishing Bureau, Philippine Publica tions Building No 2, Soler and Calero Streets. Advertising and Circulation offices: Philip pine Publications Building No. 1, Florentino Torres Street. Subscription rates: Three months, P4.80; per copy Pl.60. Entered as second-class mail matter at the Manila Post Office on March 25 1943 Manuscripts will be paid for after publication. MISSING PAGE/PAGES