A New Wave of Inspiration

A couple of months ago, I picked up a book called "The God Stealer" by F. Sionil Jose at a local bookshop back in Manila... It was a compilation of short stories - all of which spoke of the different social conditions of the Philippines in subtle ways. I was never quite attached to the book after that. In fact, I left it in Manila when I got back to Singapore. But something happened today that's so amazing, it changed my perspective of some things.

Francisco Sionil Jose, born in December 3, 1924, can easily be said to be one of the greatest literary defenders of social justice in the Philippines. Today, he spoke at SMU, talking about the responsibilty of writers in politics... something like that. But his words, tainted with 81 years of pain, frustration, joy, and nostalgia, sounded like a knowlegeable grandfather conversing with his curious grandchildren - teaching them his ways, and how life has changed so much since his time.

Imagine having the opportunity to sit down and have tea with one of the most knowledgeable people in your country. Believe me, this man has been in the Philippine socio-political scene since World War 2, when he told us of a conversation he had with Luis Taruc regarding the formation of the HUKBALAHAP, who asked him to join them in their revolt against the Japanese. He said that if he did that, he wouldn't have been there speaking to us.

Also, being a native Ilocano, he had an acquaintance - a fellow Ilocano - named Ferdinand Marcos, the President who ruled the nation with an iron fist.

"... He (Marcos) was our nation's greatest President... but he lacked one thing - vision."

Those were his exact words, when asked about his view on Philippine political history.

Beyond that, he told us that his works were based on only one theme - social justice - something that he had believed in so much, he spent his entire life writing about it. He told us that all his works were inspired by digging deep into the faults of his society, thereafter letting the pen do the work. Despite all the political activities that he could have chosen to be involved in in the past, he followed the concept of "aesthetic distance"; He himself was a revolutionary - he admitted that he believed that another revolution would be necessary to lift us up from the socio-political deluge that we are in. But his form of revolt was different form the "genuine" forms, pertaining to swords and guns. Instead, he pursued what he called an "armchair" revolution, writing and exposing the faults of the society.

From a man with so much history behind him, and so many kinds of oppression experienced, it was such an experience for me, the younger generation, to be able to receive advice and encouragement from such a legend like him. His greatness and wisdom comes with humility - as was shown when he sat down with a group of young Filipinos whom he didn't have an appointment with, just to be able to impart his beliefs. His talk ended promptly at 5:30 PM, but he chatted with us until 7PM, when the skywas getting dark. He laughed with us, rubbed shoulders, and warmed all our hearts with his sincerity. He taught us, but he was also clearly fascinated with the insights that we were placing on the table.

One thing he made me realize so much is how we, the Filipino youth, can make so much of a difference to the future of our country. You don't need to be a politician, a businessman, or even a doctor. All you need to do is BE a Filipino. No matter if you are Chinese, Indio (native), or whatever ethnic/racial group, you just have to acknowledge what you have, and give back to the country.

Private savings in other countries only helps individuals, not countries. So the billions of pesos in secret bank accounts that the Marcoses withheld from the Filipinos could have been given back and probably could have alleviated whatever strife a majority of 85 million people are experiencing today. If only he thought about it, he could have been a philantrophist, much like John D. Rockerfeller or Leland Stanford. If only money was pumped into the local industry and for the promotion of high-quality education, then maybe there wouldn't be as many unemployed people now, and maybe there would be more literate people now. Maybe, we could have been an intellectual hub, a place where people travel to seek answers to their questions, not the place people look at with speculation and doubt.

But Marcos isn't the only one to blame. To his credit, he has done much to help stabilize a huge country, but his fault is his lack of foresight. Nowadays, more and more tycoons are appearing in the business scene, who, again, have set their eyes on overseas investments/savings. True, maybe foreign investment might be beneficial in a way, but surely too much of something is never good.

Then there is the social stigma that the Chinese community in the Philippines face. Mr. F. Sionil Jose even commented that Filipinos nowadays, as they go up the financial hierarchy, they become yellower (as opposed to before when the mestizos ruled the business sector.) Due to this, Filipino-Chinese are often percepted as money-hogging people who have a feeling of indifference towards Indios. However, he reiterated his stance again and again, that he wasn't anti-Chinese in any way; in fact, he admired the hardworking qualities that we possess, as well as our perseverance in setting up businesses. He then urged us to become true Filipinos, wherever our studies might lead us to - be it business, politics, or otherwise.

When I asked him personally how I can help the country even if I have no political aspirations, he gave me a short, but insightful answer:

Magpaka-Pilipino ka.

It's just as simple as that. Be a true Filipino. Appreciate where you come from. Learn to look back and give back. Accept whatever things have happened in your history and make it part of you, be it good or bad. Move on.

Now that I have met him, I have to read that book again. Surely, after feeling all his emotions and angst over the socio-political issues of the Philippines, I could look at those short stories from the old but cheerful eyes of a man who has seen it all, but is still yearning to learn more.

Well, before he ended his talk, he said some beautiful words that I wish to remember for the rest of my life:

"... The writer's greatest responsibility is not to the people, and not even to the nation; his greatest responsibility is to himself... that he survives... so that one day, in the future, he will be able to give a sense of time and place to people of the younger generation..." - F. Sionil Jose

Even though I am not a writer, I believe that each one of us have a story to tell, an autobiography to write - every single second. His words made me appreciate the life that God has given me, and certainly made me rethink a lot of things that I am currently doing now, as well as what I want to do with my life.

Thank you very much, sir.