The Barangay and The Filipino Citizen

What led to my latest pursuit?

After a weeks-long search online, I realized in early April 2010 that the Filipino citizen has lost its identity. First came the Spaniards, then the American influence. When I left the country in 1970, hope was in the air-- likely due to the American influence. But in the years since,living conditions and opportunity deteriorated.

When I scan the past 5 centuries, it's no surprise that the Filipino identity has been lost. I am its most glaring example: it's very challenging to find a Filipino restaurant in almost all cities. How can we have Filipino eateries when we don't even know who we are? I have started with myself,my quest for my own lost identity. I love the American influence but I also love the islands.

I love America yet it's this Filipino thing, utang na loob, a sense of solemn obligation, that compels,inspires me to reach out to my birth country. I believe the Filipino people face a critical juncture during this, the 5th republic.

We can still turn things around but we need to act fast.

The effortmust be united and relentless, with support from top to bottom. We needto connect to the era before the first Spaniards set foot on ourbeloved islands. We need to weave the fabric of our suffering underSpanish rule through those centuries and tie-in the American influences,both positive and otherwise, to the present.

The Filipino leadership is detached from the life of hardship faced by over 90million beautiful Filipinos. We start at the barangay level, where we reassert the value of individual human beings.

The Facebook group, Jose Rizal Online, is dedicated to the Filipino citizen, seeks stories of courage and resilience to inspire and guide our course. Our work is urgent.

The Filipino people alone-- the Filipino citizen, not the leadership-- is the country's best hope for establishing lasting peace and a more promising existence in the islands. It will be the magnanimous Filipino citizen who will carry the torch so we are again the Pearl Of The Orient.

Please help save our country.