A State of Many Nations

(This is an original writing of Minerva Arceo that was also posted on some yahoogroups.)

One of our national artists Virgilio Almario, now the chairman of the Baraosoin Kalinangan Foundation Inc. , gave an interesting lecture on “nationalism” last year at the 1st Central Luzon Culture and Arts Summit in Malolos, Bulacan. I said interesting (but not necessarily convincing) because it generated important questions from Kapampangans present during the conference.

His main premise is that colonialism and imperialism has disintegrated our country into pieces creating divides amongst our people and our regions. Almario said that like the broken ancient Manunggul jar found in Palawan, our national culture must be rebuilt and its pieces be put together. And lo and behold, his idea of putting the pieces together is to propagate the national language, Wikang Filipino with an annotation that native names of products or icons distinct to one province or ethnic community be adopted to enrich the Filipino language. For example, an adoption of parul and sisig of Pampanga in the Wikang Filipino vocabulary.

But the mere adoption of ethnic words in the Wikang Filipino will not do the trick for Almario. He may be a national artist. He may be somebody recognized in the culture and arts circle, both national and international. He may be respected by major academic institutions in the country.

But the mere idea of imposing the use of the allegedly “enriched” Wikang Filipino language by other ethnic groups that have their own language and culture would be a disaster worst than Spanish or American imperialism.

And with a slight slant against Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Cebuanos, I am too sorry to say that even a national artist like Almario could not pull off such grand idea of “unifying” the nation.

This is simply because he and other “nationalists” are missing the whole point of self-determination among the various nations in the Philippines. I say nations because like the Kapampangans, the Cebuanos, Bicolanos, Ilocanos, Moros and other ethnic communities in the archipelago have their own language and culture that go beyond geographical boundaries. A nation is a group of people who share the same language, culture, heritage and aspiration. As compared to a state like the Philippines, a nation is not limited by political and physical boundaries and not ruled by only one government. That is why we have a Kapampangan nation with our people spread over the Philippines, United States, Middle East and in all other countries around the globe.

The renowned Kapampangan writer and lawyer, the late Katoks Tayag once addressed our people properly in one of his writings, The Vanishing Kapampangan Nation.

And as a nation, we think, we speak, we work in same direction with one goal and purpose – that is to enrich our culture and our language, to become competitive and to become world-class citizens. Why the Cebuanos were successful in developing their area as an economic center in the Visayas? It is because they have found their roots that gave them strength and direction.

Should this scenario be duplicated by other nations in the archipelago, then it is not too difficult to envision a state like ours to have strong and skilled people with strong conviction and aspirations.

I say in diversity there should be unity. If we would respect each others’ culture and learn each others language next to ours, then I believe it is not impossible to unite the leaders of these nations and speak for the general welfare of our state.

Almario and his fellow “nationalists,” I put quotation marks on the word because to begin with, the concept of “national culture” among Filipinos is still very problematic. Almario and others believe that this has already been resolved. If that I so, why do we still look for our identity as “Filipinos”? How can there be one “Filipino nation” when what we really have is a country and a state with numerous nations?

Unless Almario and his fellow “nationalists” look at it this way, they will never find the answer why many of us still assert our position against the propagation of only one language, the Wikang Filipino. To start with, Almario is contradicting himself. He is using colonialism and imperialism as the reason behind the opposition against the so-called “nationalism” but he fails to see that the idea of a “one language, one nation” for Filipinos is something colonial. It is how the Americans think. To use one language to unify one country is a colonial concept. The Spanish colonized so many nations and erased their identities replacing them with their own to unify their colonies under one ruler. The Americans have dominated the world and was made a super power because of the use of their language.

The only solution for us is to forget that we are slaves of King Philip and be called Filipinos. Because there is really no Filipino identity to start with. Yes, I say to Almario. If we have to unlearn a thousand years of mental slavery and the theoretical identity as Filipinos, then so be it.

We were raised and nurtured based on our ethnic cultures. I for one studied at the University of the Philippines, one of the academic institutions raising the consciousness for Filipinism but I can say that in heart and in mind, I am a fully blooded Kapampangan. I was raised as one and die as one. And not as a Filipino because that “political” identity is too alien for me to embrace. (30)