Keeping our history and heritage burning
While a fire raged at the iconic almost century-old Manila Central Post Office, scenes of several ancient buildings being demolished every now and then played back in my head. Such destruction was not caused by accidents or acts of nature but by men, usually business tycoons, abetted by the government. We’ve seen these two major forces team up to tear down historic structures and landmarks, only to replace them with state-of-the-art commercial buildings, shopping malls, and condominiums.
Hiding under the veil of progress and globalization, such expedient acts have been tolerated as people favor modernity over tradition. But when must tradition be sacrificed for modernity? Must we again stand by doing nothing, as we did, when the government desecrated a municipal cemetery in Alabang to build the Star Mall? China acted similarly when it displaced many towns and people to construct the Three Gorges dams, just like Ilocano officials did when they built the Chico River dam in Northern Luzon. Will the government do what the Portuguese did when they destroyed the native boats in Sulu that they found to be much better than theirs in the 16th century, and their canons which were much bigger than theirs? And all because they were loathe to admit that the Moros were better skilled than the Spaniards.
To ruin age-old historic buildings is to deprive Filipinos of a sense of their identity through these remaining authentic symbols of our history and culture. Politicians, businessmen, and many self-serving Filipinos don’t realize that culture itself is the way to development. Look at such progressive nations like Japan or Germany. It is by respecting and preserving their culture that people show love of country enough to propel their economy to greater heights.
Locally, look at Vigan in Ilocos Sur. The city was named one of the seven new wonder cities of the world out of 1,200, because of its preserved centuries-old Hispanic buildings, most of which were repurposed into commercial centers. No sites were destroyed nor torn down, with new structures erected in the same architectural style that has since drawn tourists all over the world, catapulting Vigan into a top earner city in Ilocos province.
We should not snub our history and should learn how our heroes like Rizal and Bonifacio and thousands of our brave forefathers gave up their lives to free us from the colonial rule of Spain and the United States, and Japanese occupation during the war. Such lessons should help us free ourselves from the shackles of modern-day dynasties and oligarchs, like the Marcoses and the Dutertes. We must not view Bonifacio as irrelevant just because there is no looming revolution.
Instead, we Filipinos should undergo personal revolution, a change within, a change of values to be true-blooded Filipinos who love and serve our country unconditionally. We should revolutionize ourselves to disprove the allegation that we, Filipinos, find it hard to change because of our damaged culture.
We profess our love of country, but our actions betray us. We throw trash anywhere, we break rules, we elect and condone leaders who fool us and rob us blind, and we discredit our sense of history. We can instead rebuild the Philippines by paying reverence to our heroes’ great sacrifices, and by preserving our history and patrimony for the enlightened Filipino youth. Let’s start with our heritage buildings that reflect our pride as a free and just people intent on living peacefully together.
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Pit M. Maliksi took Bachelor of Science in Library Science at the University of Santo Tomas and taught at Central Texas College. He was named most outstanding professor for 12 years at Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Sto. Tomas City, Batangas (STB), and educational program officer of Kiwanis International STB. He also founded Mga Apo Ni Tomas, a civic society of young professionals. He has been the senior high school English consultant at Liceo de San Pablo since 2019.
