(See the English Translation)
Dahil bilingguwal ako, lagi akong tinatanong kung “pwede ka bang mag-Tagalog!!!” Kung bilingguwal ka rin, alam mo na ang taranta ng pag-iisip kung ano ang pwedeng sabihin.
Minsan naiisip ko, “Siguro sasabihin ko na lang ‘yoong mga panata mula sa flag ceremony noon???” (Pero di ko tinutuloy)
Noong nag-aaral pa ako, dalawang panunumpa ang binibigkas namin bawat umaga. Sila ang “Panatang Makabayan” at “Panunumpa sa Watawat ng Pilipinas.”
Panatang Makabayan
Iniibig ko ang Pilipinas, aking Lupang Sinilangan.
Tahanan ng aking lahi, kinukupkop ako at tinutulungan
upang maging malakas, masipag, at marangal.
Dahil mahal ko ang Pilipinas,
diringgin ko ang payo ng aking mga magulang.
Susundin ko ang tuntunin ng paaralan,
tutuparin ko ang tungkulin ng mamamayang makabayan;
naglilingkod, nag-aaral, at nagdarasal ng buong katapatan.
Iaalay ko ang aking buhay, pangarap at pagsisikap
sa bansang Pilipinas.
Panunumpa sa Watawat ng Pilipinas
Ako ay Pilipino,
Buong katapatang nanunumpa sa watawat
ng Pilipinas,
At sa bansang kanyang sinasagisag,
Na may dangal, katarungan at kalayaan,
Na pinakikilos ng sambayanang
Maka-Diyos, Maka-kalikasan, Maka tao at
Maka bansa.
Pagkatapos, pinagdadasal namin ang bayan at kinakanta ang himig ng aming paaralan.
Bawat umaga ay nangangamba ako rito. Una, kinakailangang kumanta ng dalawang awit, at ‘di tulad ng karamihan sa mga Pilipino, hindi ko ito hilig. Pangalawa, kailangang tumayo buong seremonya, at hindi ko talaga hilig ang pagtayo.
Labindalawang taon ko silang binigkas, na walang gana, tila isang robot, na hindi iniisip ang kabuluhan ng mga pinagsasabi ko. Salita lamang sila na ipinakain sa akin at inilalabas ko bawat umaga. Hanggang tumapak ako sa mataas na paaralan.
Noong 13 o 14 na taon ako, napansin ko ang linyang “…kinukupkop ako at tinutulungan,” at tinanong ko ang sarili ko… Kinukupkop nga ba ako at tinutulungan ng aking bayan? Nakapag-aral ako sa magandang eskwelahan, ngunit dahil ba ito sa bayan? Hindi ba ang magulang ko ang nagbayad sa pangmatrikula ko at hindi ang Pilipinas?
At kung hindi man ako, ay tinutulungan ba ng Pilipinas ang ibang mag-aaral sa kanilang edukasyon? Sa kanilang mga layunin? Sa kanilang pangarap? Bakit ko iaalay ang aking “buhay, pangarap, at pagsisikap sa bansang Pilipinas” kung ang bansang Pilipinas ay wala namang kinalaman sa aking pagsulong bilang isang mamamayan? Sapat ba ang pagmamahal sa bayan para ibigay ang lahat-lahat?
Sabi sa Panunumpa, ang sambayanang Pilipino ay “Maka-Diyos, maka-kalikasan, maka-tao, at maka-bansa,” ngunit totoo ba? Maka-Diyos ba kapag ginagawang palengke ang simbahan? Maka-kalikasan ba kapag puro basura at polusyon ang paligid? Maka-tao ba kung patuloy ang paglaganap ng kaisipang talangka? Maka-bansa ba kapag lahat ay naghahangad na mangibang bansa?
Paano ko ibibigay ang lahat-lahat sa isang bansang hindi man lang magawa ang mga pinapapangako niya?
Nang lumipat ako sa New York, wala sa isip ko na maghanap ng sagot. Ang tanging layunin ko noon ay makapagtapos at makapaghanap ng trabaho. Pero kung nanaisin man ay ang sagot ang nakahanap sa akin…
...Joke lang.
Siguro ay naghihintay ka ng resolusyon. Sagot man, o rebelasyon, o kwento ng isang matandang babae na diwata pala, na nagsabi sa akin na kailangan kong magbalik sa Pilipinas at kung anu-ano pa.
Paumanhin, pero sa totoo lang, hindi ko alam. Hindi ko alam kung may sagot ba ‘yan. Beintidos pa lang ako, huwag ako ang tanungin ninyo.
Ngunit huwag kang mabigo. Wala man akong sagot, may napagtanto naman ako.
Noong 13 taong gulang ako, tinanong ko ang sarili ko, “Bakit ko ibibigay ang lahat sa Pilipinas?”
Pero ngayong 22 na ako, siguro ay mas mainam na tanungin, “Ano pa ang magagawa ko para ang mga nakasaad sa Panatang Makabayan ay maging katotohanan para sa kasalukuyang henerasyon?”
Sa susunod ko na tatalakayin ang pagkupkop at pagtulong ng Pilipinas sa akin at sa ibang mamamayan nito. Sa ngayon hindi na importante iyon. Hindi dapat pagpantay sa ibinigay sa atin ang ating iniisip, kundi ang paglaganap ng higit na magandang kinabukasan para sa mga susunod sa atin. Hindi ba’t iyon ang tunay na pagiging maka-tao?
As a bilingual person, I am often asked to “say something in Tagalog!!” If you are bilingual as well, you are probably familiar with the flustered feeling of not knowing what to say.
As a joke, I think to myself, “Maybe I should just recite the oaths from Philippine flag ceremonies???” (But I don’t)
When I was in school, we swore two oaths every morning after we sang the National Anthem. The first was “Panatang Makabayan (Patriotic Oath)” and the second, “Panunumpa sa Watawat ng Pilipinas (Pledge of Allegiance).”
Patriotic Oath
I love the Philippines, the land of my birth.
Home of my race, which fosters and helps me
to be strong, diligent, and honorable.
Because I love the Philippines,
I will heed my parents' advice,
I will obey school rules,
I will fulfill the duties of a patriotic citizen;
serving, studying, and praying faithfully.
I will offer my life, dreams, and struggles
to the Philippines.
Pledge of Allegiance
I am a Filipino,
Wholeheartedly pledging allegiance to the flag
of the Philippines,
And the country which it represents,
With honor, justice, and freedom,
That is mobilized by a society that is
Loving,
of God, of the environment, of its people, and of its country.
Afterwards, we would say a prayer and sing our school’s hymn.
This routine was something I dreaded every morning. First, it required singing two songs¸ and unlike the Filipino stereotype, I hate singing. Second, it involved standing outside for the entirety of the flag ceremony, and I hate standing.
For twelve years I recited both oaths, almost robotically at times, without giving a second thought to what they really meant. They were just words fed to me which I regurgitated back every morning (like word vomit, but more eloquent). At least until I entered high school.
At 13 or 14, I noticed the line “...which fosters and helps me,” and I asked myself.... Does my country really foster and help me? I was given a good education, but was this from my country? Was it not my parents paying for my tuition fees, and not the Philippines?
And if not me, then does the Philippines help other students with their studies? With their goals? With their aspirations? Why would I “offer my life, dreams, and struggles to the Philippines” if the Philippines has nothing to do with my development as a member of society? Is love of country a good enough reason to give your all?
The Pledge says, Philippine society is “loving, of God, of the environment, of its people, and of its country,” but how true is this? Do we love our God when we turn our churches into marketplaces? Do we love the environment when we continue to litter and pollute our surroundings? Do we love our people when crab mentality remains within us? Do we love our country when everyone aspires to migrate?
How could I give my all to a country that can’t even keep its promises?
When I moved to New York, I had no intention of looking for the answer. My main goal was to finish college and find a job. But little did I know that the answer would find me…
...Just kidding.
You were probably expecting a resolution at the end of this. Maybe an answer, or a revelation, or a story about how a wise, old lady who was actually a fairy told me to go back to the Philippines and so on and so forth.
Sorry, but the truth is I don’t know. I don’t know if there even is an answer. I’m only 22, don’t ask me.
But don’t fret; though I have no answers, I did realize something.
When I was 13 I asked myself, “Why would I offer everything to the Philippines?”
But now, at 22, maybe it would be better to ask, “What more can I do so the Patriotic Oath will become truth for future generations?”
I’ll tackle the Philippines’ helping and fostering to me and all its citizens later. Right now that’s not important. Matching what we were given should not be the focus, rather the development of an even better future for those who will follow us. Isn’t that the true essence of humanity?
Samantha Dizon is a staff member of UniPro's New York chapter, and based in Washington D.C., where she works as a staffer at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. You can contact her at sam.dizon@unipronow.org.