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Thursday, November 30, 2017
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TODAY, Nov. 30, on his 154rd birthday, we honor Andres Bonifacio, the hero of the workers and the Filipino people. His founding of the Katipunan along with other freedom-loving Filipinos, and leading a national revolutionary movement united against Spanish colonization, will always be the mark of the truest heroes of our nation.
Honoring our true heroes is timely and correct, coming from a historical act of affirmation that the real heroes of the nation are those who uphold freedom, human rights, justice and peace. These same advocacies of Bonifacio remain true today. And so we honor Bonifacio and the workers then who stood, and the workers now who continue stand for genuine freedom, justice and human rights.
Bonifacio’s spirit lives in the Filipino people who continue to fight for independence, national democracy and genuine change for the country. We thus also celebrate the modern day Bonifacios, those who genuinely serve and protect the interest of the Filipino people. The nationalist and democratic struggles of today are not different from the anti-colonial and anti-feudal struggles during the time of Bonifacio. The attacks on education and in our society in general limit and bind the Filipino people with policies that rob us of our right to education, and other social services. We thus align with the peasants, workers, youth, educators and other sectors of society for genuine agrarian reform, the regularization of jobs, accessible and quality education.
We must continue the unfinished struggle of Andres Bonifacio for genuine sovereignty, social justice, and democracy. Let us write history with the people, among the oppressed and victims of injustice. In the words of Bonifacio himself:
“Panahon na ngayong dapat na lumitaw ang liwanag ng katotohanan; panahon nang dapat nating ipakilala na tayo’y may sariling pagdaramdam, may puri, may hiya at pagdadamayan.
“Ngayon panahon nang dapat simulan ang pagsisiwalat ng mga mahal at dakilang ani na magwawasak sa masinsing tabing na bumubulag sa ating kaisipan; panahon na ngayong dapat makilala ng mga Tagalog ang pinagbuhatan ng kanilang mga kahirapan. Araw na itong dapat kilalanin na sa bawat isang hakbang natin ay tumutuntong tayo at nabibingit sa malalim na hukay ng kamatayan na sa ati’y inuumang ng mga kaaway.
“Kaya, O mga kababayan, ating idilat ang bulag na kaisipan at kusang igugol sa kagalingan ang ating lakas sa tunay at lubos na pag-asa na magtagumpay sa nilalayong kaginhawahan ng bayan tinubuan.”
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