Feeling Rizal

Last year, we celebrated the sesquicentennial anniversary of our National Hero. The prerequisite ceremony, tributes and memorials were held in his honor. We remembered his poignant life story that ended in martyrdom at Bagumbayan.

Today Jose Rizal adds another birthday. Nothing reminds us more of where we have been and where we are today than the writings of our homegrown genius, depicted so vividly in his magnum opus Noli and Fili.

By all accounts, Dr. Jose Rizal was most likely an introvert, a sensitive bordering on depressive, given to critical introspection. Literally too bigheaded for a 5’2” frame, his brilliance was also his bane. Forever questioning, he grappled with the true Filipino self-identity as he contemplated on whether peaceful reform or bloody revolution was the best option for the country. He pondered on whether the federal form of government was more apt for a multi-sectoral culture like ours. He critiqued the Indio and the Peninsulare, perceiving the great divide between the haves and the have-nots, the educated elite and the unschooled masses. The question is now 151 years old and the answers remain tentative.

If Rizal were to come alive today, what would he observe? A prolific traveler, he may wince at how the Philippines compares to its neighbors, how our economy experienced a free fall from being second to Japan in the 60s, to being second-to-the-last, barely ahead of Bangladesh in 2010. He may be happy to note that the Aquino government has regained a foothold and is now slowly but steadily climbing back to where we ought to be.

Singapore and Hong Kong are small territories that are rated world class. It’s not fair to benchmark against these two city-states with populations less than 5 percent of ours. But Malaysia and Thailand are way ahead, while Indonesia and Vietnam grew faster than the Philippines in the last decade. These are more parallel comparisons.

With wistfulness we recall how UP Los Banos and IRRI trained Thai agriculturists on rice technologies only to end up importing from them years later. Like us, our neighbors had the same challenges: booming populations, corruption, unstable political environments. So how come we are the cellar dweller compared to them? What is the critical success factor that we seem to be missing?

Rizal would have pointed it out clearly. What is missing is the Filipino. Amb. Leon Ma. Guerrero, Rizal biographer, calls our attention on the fact that “Rizal was the first Filipino” because from a historical point of view among those who preceded him “No one proclaimed himself a Filipino.” And among his contemporaries, “it was Rizal, as we have seen, who taught his countrymen that they could be something else, Filipinos who were members of a Filipino nation.

And that is the ingredient that is sorely lacking in our recipe for progress. I always considered Koreans brash and sometimes even uncouth. But gradually my assessment changed. It began with the 1998 Asian crisis when news broke out worldwide about the response of Koreans to help keep their government and country afloat. It was the ultimate act of citizenry, something that would have heartened our national hero.

In the most astonishing display of unity, a nationwide campaign led by business groups like Samsung, Daewoo and Hyundai asked ordinary Koreans to donate their personal gold treasures to ease the economic crisis. Observers marveled at the extraordinary sight: South Koreans queuing for hours to donate their best-loved treasures. Housewives gave up their wedding rings; athletes donated medals and trophies. Many gave away their golden “luck” keys, the traditional present on the opening of a new business or a 60th birthday.

Even Korea’s traditionally militant labor unions announced that they are willing to join a consultative body alongside employers and politicians to discuss the possibility of job losses.

The first gold shipment reached 300 kilograms to be melted into gold ingots. But the most extraordinary aspect of the campaign was not the sum involved, but the phenomenon of public self-sacrifice and the willingness of the Korean people to make personal sacrifices to help save their economy.

Will that ever happen in the Philippines?

Seoul was not among my favorite cities to visit all these years. The first time I was there in 1995 was traumatic. I was pushed, shoved, elbowed by kimchi-smelling Koreans at airports and even at the Conference venue. But I finally ventured back in Seoul. I was bracing myself for unpleasant encounters like before. But there was no more jostling, no more rudeness. The young Koreans are quick to apologize if they so much as accidentally bump you. I was amazed at the transformation of a people. How did they change their civility? What happened to make them more aware of their lack of social skills?

Apparently, aside from tourism, the Korean self-identity was inscribed in their psyche. There were good behavior infomercials, airing constantly in their subways, posters and billboards that reinforced positive values. Even designer T-shirts had embroidered and sequined lines like “Smile and be nice.” It was cool to be good!

Suddenly it occurred to me, that their “culture” was being designed and molded into a global, civilized culture. The government probably tasked a Minister of Culture to create a campaign to draw out the best from the Koreans. It was good for tourism, good for business and the economy is robust. Korean brands have penetrated, if not dominated the world market, each one shouting, and “proudly Korean-made.”

The Filipino is missing. Who we are baffled Rizal in the 35 years that he lived. It continues to baffle us now. Like Rizal, Filipinos thrive wherever they choose to live. But unlike Rizal, we have yet to imbibe what our national hero preached: “ It is a wasted life that is not consecrated to a great ideal. It is like a stone wasted on the field, not becoming part of a great edifice.”

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