Things are happening – and moving – in our upbeat country!

This nation’s daily diet of bad news, accusations and counter-accusations, political sniping and squabbling, loose talk about conspiracies, and other cuckoo (coup-coup) gossip, violence and mayhem in general, give the impression to local and foreigner alike that this island archipelago is in crisis.

"Crisis", if you watch television or read the domestic and foreign news, occurs everywhere each day in this turbulent planet of ours. Bombings in Iraq, sectarian killings, massacres in Darfur, riots in Paris, Hamas versus Fatah versus Israel in Palestine, un-solomonic overthrows in the Solomon Islands, South Korea versus Japan over a scatter of tiny islands (nationalism is a powerful force, never to be discounted – sometimes misunderstood); America’s Dubya Bush with added furrows on his brow; Tony Blair, gallantly aged by his travails, apparently in extremis. The only "happy" lands perhaps, are those not reached by television, the bloggers, or the electronic and print media.

I remember my old professor, Dr. Henry Kissinger of Harvard and the Nixon White House, coming to Manila in 1971. I sat beside him at a sumptuous official dinner in his honor. Henry turned to me and in typical droll fashion, in his gutteral German accent which he studiously cultivated even in Boston, asked me in a stage whisper heard halfway down the table: "Max, is it true that the Filipinos are suffering a crisis of identity?"

"Of course not, Henry," I replied. "We Ilocanos, for example, have never doubted who we are!"

I didn’t know then that my own personal crisis was coming due. Almost exactly a year later, I was arrested and put in prison at the outset of Martial Law.

What I’m trying to say is that people have troubles everywhere. There is no blessed nation (even the Chosen People) who are exempt. What’s vital is that nation keeps on striving to cope, to right wrong, to banish evil and corruption, to foil the killers – and punish the guilty. Defeat comes only when a people give up.

Indonesia’s founding President Sukarno sometimes made a mess of things with his swaggering and unpredictable ways, but he was a spellbinder on the public platform. He kept repeating one phrase which sounds too flamboyant, but is true: "For a fighting nation there is no journey’s end."

Doubt not. For all our disappointments the Filipino people remain optimistic and continue to struggle for the right, just as our boys climbed Everest – reaching for our place in the sun. The self-pity and doom and gloom of our skeptical, polluted cities, is not to be found in the countryside. It’s not that the folk in little towns, in the provinces and in the hills and mountains, have any fewer problems. But they have faith in God, and in the promise of a better tomorrow. In my travels here, I found the sunniest smiles among those who live in the dark shadow of poverty.

This is not consuelo de bobo but reality. In the midst of squalor, hidden among the rags, the Filipino spirit shines. When our family was very poor in the postwar era, having lost everything, we were not miserably poor. Our widowed mother taught us never to feel poor. She said that we should do our best, and God would do the rest. Over the years, Mama was proven right.

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The big event of today will be the arrival of Dr. Koichiro Matsuura, the Director-General of UNESCO. Better known in acronym, this is the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization.

If you’ll recall, Matsuura and UNESCO honored the Philippines by holding the first World Press Freedom Day here in Manila three years ago. This year it was held in Sri Lanka – which is now threatened by a potential return to civil war between the Sri Lankan government, led by the native Singhalese and the well-armed rebels, the Tamil Tigers.

Dr. Matsuura was reelected to his second term as UNESCO D.G. – unopposed – during the 33rd session of the General Conference in Paris.

When we had a private meeting with him in Paris, even as we congratulated him, he reminded us he was coming to Manila for the 31st World Theater Congress. This is the first time that the UNESCO ITI (International Theater Institute) World Congress and Theater Olympics of the Nations, in the 58-year history of its existence, will be held in Southeast Asia, from May 16-29. Matsuura will be here from today (Monday) to Wednesday, then fly on to Brunei.

The organizer and sparkplug of this ambitious event is the tireless and brilliant Cecile Guidote-Alvarez. But truth to tell, there are those who’ve begun sniping at her, intriguing against her, and attempting to block some of her initiatives. This is the evil side of the Filipino character – fits of petty jealousy, glory-seeking arrogance and overweening pride. Go, Cecile, make this a great event – and the hell with the hecklers and saboteurs!

The UNESCO Director General will meet with the Cabinet Secretaries – after all, Foreign Affairs Secretary Bert Romulo is the Chairman of the UNESCO National Commission (UNACOM), which is made up of 41 experts in education, science, culture and communications.

He will also meet with members of Congress at a luncheon given in his honor in the Manila Hotel where Speaker Joe de Venecia will confer on him the Congressional Medal of Merit. He will also be hosted by President GMA with an official dinner in Malacañang. Bert Romulo will also give a luncheon in his honor, with all the UNESCO Commissioners in Ilustrados in Intramuros, and the final dinner Tuesday night (tomorrow) will be tendered by Tourism Secretary Ace Durano.

The University of Sto. Tomas – which is 25 years older than Harvard – will confer on Dr. Matsuura a Doctorate of Laws, honoris causa. Mike Enriquez of GMA-7 will have a one-on-one interview with him at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

That’s only 80 percent of the activities calendared for D.G. Whew. What a schedule!

* * *

Father James Reuter, S.J., was given a standing ovation when the President conferred on him the Order of Lakandula. Father Jim, who turns 90 today, is truly loved by everyone whose lives he has touched during the more than 70 years he worked here as a teacher, playwright, journalist and spokesman of the Church. The Order carried the rank of Bayani (hero), and indeed Father Jim has been a hero in every way.

At the same gala dinner in Malacañang, six of our nation’s greatest artists received the Presidential Medal of Merit. These men and women, all of them painters, except for one – Oscar Yatco who is a superb violinist, conductor and musical genius (he was even concert master of the famous Wagner Festival Orchestra in Bayreuth, Germany), Oscar, who is in Hannover, couldn’t make it to the affair, but was represented by his family, including his sister. He’s a national treasure.

The late Feranando Zobel de Ayala (1924-1984) was honored posthumously, as well as the great Nena Saguil (1914-1994) who was represented by her granddaughter.

I was happy to see our friend, the legendary Anita Magsaysay-Ho receive the Presidential award, as well as our chum of younger days, Juvenal "Juvy" Sanso. Romeo V. Tabuena, who now lives in Mexico, was also awarded the Presidential Medal.

All told, it was a charming and nostalgic affair – an occasion for old friends to meet, among them some I hadn’t seen in years. Bert Romulo that Saturday night told me he was all primed for today’s UNESCO and ITI World Congress.

One thing struck me at that dinner in the Palace. How does La Presidenta stand the pace of her work and necessary socializing? And the endless state visits, and trips to meetings abroad? Besides that there are the barbs, the slings and arrows of outraged oppositionists and critics, hurled at her from every side. An embattled Presidenta has to keep that smile permanently pasted on her face, otherwise her foes will crow that she’s cracking under the strain.

Thus far, La Glorietta still goes smiling through – that’s what I’d say.

* * *

Already, the government and, need I add, our police and security forces, are gearing up for the 12th ASEAN Summit this December which will bring to our country the heads of state of Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as their Foreign Ministers and senior Cabinet members.

The international event which will be held in Cebu is especially significant since it will be occasion the Philippines assumes the Chairmanship of ASEAN – to be turned over by the current chairman, Malaysia.

Since 52 out of the 83 conferences will be held in Cebu, the Police Regional Office 7 has prepared the "strategic concepts and operational guidelines" for the event. There will be 17 heads of state and some 2,000 delegates attending the ASEAN Summit. A few of the meetings will be held, as well, in Subic, Clark, Manila, Boracay, and Baguio.

Anyway 16 Task Groups have been mobilized to implement a Security Plan. They have already been placed on alert status – which is how long it takes to organize a typical summit.