http://www.asianjournal.com • (213) 250-9797 • ASIAN JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS • JUNE 2008 21INDEPENDENCE DAY SUPPLEMENT

Our Ingenuity, Our Freedom

tendency is that we will keep preferring imported or foreign-made products over our own.

But once we learn to tap within us the so-called consumerist patriotism, then we can go on advocating our own products and proudly telling the world about them, with heads high and hearts aglow.

The good news is that the Philippine government is on our side on this en-deavor, by giving us reasons to be proud of our products and to keep making them our choice.

Last May 27, Pres. Gloria Arroyo issued Administrative Order 227, directing all government agencies, including state universities and colleges and military and police units, to give preference in the procurement of materials and supplies produced, made and manufactured in the Philippines over imported goods. Giving teeth to the administrative order, the President warned that violators will face administrative, civil, and criminal charges under existing rules and regulations.

This move has been inspired by the “Buy Pinoy, Buy Local” program recently initiated by Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) and the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FFCCCI).

Urging consumers to patronize lo-cally made products, the impressive and promising Buy Pinoy, Buy Local program deserves all the support it can get from

Filipinos. By buying local, we show our own sense of patriotism and we help meet the country’s needs. By taking with us a piece of our country when we travel abroad, we identify ourselves as a Filipino and we promote our ingenuity as well.

In the Philippines, perhaps the most well-known shop showcasing and sell-ing Filipino products—from apparel, accessories, furniture, home furnishings, kitchen wares, to gift items and souve-nirs—is Kultura Filipinas, which can be found in most SM malls.

An event to watch out for is the One Town One Product-Philippines (OTOP) trade fair, a priority program of the government and spearheaded by the Department of Trade and Industry. Every year, trade exhibitors composed of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) all over the country come down to the nation's capital, bringing with them their town’s products and specialties for every Filipino buyer to see, bring home, or tell among friends.

OTOP is the perfect chance to see hun-dreds of booths on exhibit, selling nearly every item category that can be found in any major supermarket, and even more. A visit to this fair is a one-day ticket to all regions of the country.

These are just a few of the many ways each of us can help. As for the rest, why not make it your personal mission to fi nd out? And once you do, make sure you share your self-discovered ways to your kababayans, too. (AJ)

From PAGE 20

cally exposed to foreign infl uences, especially to the Western, is diffi cult enough. So, this may be it.

Yabang Pinoy, two years after it has started, has gained hundreds to thou-sands of advocates. It has sponsored projects and marketed signature prod-ucts that make Filipinos an even more proud race. Thus, it is appropriate to say that within the fi rst two years, it

The Band that...From PAGE 20 has been quite successful. What more

in the coming years?So let’s cooperate, join hands and

wear the band. It isn’t too late to voice out and be proud, and say that you are a Filipino— a “Yabang Pinoy.” As the song goes, “Ipagmalaki mo... Pinoy ako, Pinoy tayo!” Let us not lose hope in bringing together Filipinos because as they say, we’ve only just begun. (AJ)

“What Makes You Proud to be Pinoy?”

"Our resilience, hospitality, the food, unique customs! We also really tend to be good in every fi eld may it be arts, music, academics... Our traditions, our family val-

ues. Proud pinoy." - Trixia Deseo, writer

"My skin! And the fact that wherever we are in the world, there are Filipinos, which makes it easier for us

to adapt." - Karla Peralta, student/photographer

"Pacquiao, Boracay... Beautiful country!" - Charmaine Tan, Communication Arts graduate

"I'm proud to be Pinoy because we are resilient despite hardships, and we enjoy life." - Ana Esteban,

entrepreneur

"Proud to be Pinoy ako dahil IBA magmahal ang Pinoy! We're passionate, romantic, sometimes crazy... Masarap tayo magamahal dahil hindi tayo kuripot sa pag-ibig!" - Bianca Gonzales, TV Host/blogger (www.

superbianca.blogspot.com)

"It's the chaos in the streets, the wit of the ordi-nary folk and our ability to smile during the hardest of

times." - Linus Caedo, chief operating offi cer

"The Pinoy’s joy and openness. Also, our race pro-duced the rice terraces and Jose Rizal." - Howie Sev-

erino, journalist/ documentary maker

premo prefers the use of Tagalog over Filipinos since the latter, at that time, denotes the Spanish who were born in the archipelago.

Marangal na Dalit ng Katagalugan’s fi rst lines are:

Mabuhay, mabuhay ang kalayaan, kalayaan,

At pasulungin ang punitKabanalang punitKabanalanThe song was, however, short lived

when Andres Bonifacio was assas-sinated reportedly by then General Aguinaldo’s men.

Afterwards, Aguinaldo decided to rename Nakpil’s composition Himno Nacional. Still not satisfi ed, he request-ed Julian Felipe to play on the piano a hymn composed by a Filipino in Hong Kong. Though he admired the music was good, Aguinaldo longs for a music that is more solemn, more majestic and dignifi ed, which could arouse patriotic fervor and national pride.

Several hours before Kawit’s dec-laration of Independence, the musi-cian arrived while Generals Mariano Trias, Baldomero Aguinaldo and their subordinates were meeting with Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo. The revolutionaries put aside their discussion to listen to the new hymn. Thrilled, archa national Filipina was instantly set to play the next day, June 12, 1898.

The next year, 1899, soldier Jose Palma’s Spanish poem, Filipinas, be-came the offi cial lyrics of the Philippine National March. Jose’s brother Rafael, said: “During the leisure hours allowed by the daily fi dget, and especially at night after the day's work, the members of the staff of the La Independencia seeking to amuse themselves and to be relieved from their physical weariness, used to assemble together and sing of play on musical instruments. Their souls affl icted by the military situation, which was growing worse every day.

How the Philippine...From PAGE 16 “It was in one of those occasions that

Jose Palma saw the necessity of writing a poem for the words of the Marcha Nacional Filipina. Although this march was known since the beginning of the revolution, and was hummed by ev-erybody, it had not yet then any words accompanying it. To suit its music, he wrote a poem Filipinas, which was published for the fi rst time in the issue of the fi rst anniversary of La In-dependencia on September 3, 1899. The spirit of his verses glowed with an optimistic faith in the future because it was the general belief that it would be impossible for the American forces to dominate the entire archipelago.”

During the American occupation in the 1920s, the Filipinos were forced to translate the Spanish lyrics into Eng-lish, soon after the cancellation of the Flag Law. Translated by Filipino writer, Camilo Osias, and American A.L. Lane, the anthem was offi cially adopted by the Philippine Commonwealth in 1934. Thus a the entire pre-war generation of Filipinos learned to sing the English version.

Finally, during President Ramon Magsaysay’s term, Julian Cruz Bal-maceda and Ildefonso Santos trans-lated the lyrics to Pilipino. On May 26, 1956, Lupang Hinirang was sung and became the offi cial National Anthem.

June 5, 2008 is day set especially to commemorate the birth of our national anthem as stipulated by Presidential Proclamation 1239 signed by then President Fidel V. Ramos in 1998—the centennial of our Independence. There were no special events held to com-memorate the event. No one made a big deal of it but as the our national fl ag gloriously waves with the breeze, Filipinos are reminded of putting their hand unto their chest to linger in some “last song syndrome” of our Lupang Hinirang. (AJ)

* * *Sources: msc.edu.ph, geocities.com.ph

INDEPENDENCE SUPPLEMENT'08-revis21 21 6/5/08 9:10:31 PM