BSU CENTER FOR BULACAN STUDIES SPONSORS RIZAL DAY LECTURES

The Center for Bulacan Studies of the Bulacan State University, in cooperation with the Samahang Pangkasaysayan ng Bulakan (SAMPAKA) and the Center for Leadership, Citizenship and Democracy of the University of the Philippines, sponsored the annual Rizal Day Lectures at the Federizo Hall of BSU on December 28, 2002. Prof. Rey Naguit, director of the Center for Bulacan Studies, Dr. Jaime B. Veneracion, visiting professor of BSU and Dr. Prospero de Vera III of UP tackled current hot issues -- "Strong Republic, Autonomy and Federalism, their roots, questions and prospects." More than 100 participants listened to the lectures and actively asked questions during the open forum.

Through slides, Dr. Veneracion described "Rizal's Madrid," places associated with the national hero, which he himself visited as a researcher in 2001. According to him, Rizal lived a spartan life among a people known for their lively night outs, entertainment and vigorous discussions of politics. He explained that in order to understand the "ilustrado concept of autonomy," it is important to recognize how the Spaniards themselves understood it. In Spain, the regions have traditions of rights and privileges dating back to the Roman period and called "fueros" that even the King was not allowed to interfere with. Thus, even as there was a federal or national government, the various regions such as Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque maintained their own brand of government, language and culture. This was the reason why the ilustrados (Rizal, Paterno, Luna, Ponce and Isabelo de los Reyes) went back to the original Filipino traditions such as the "sandugo" and "bayanihan" in order to define our "kabihasnan." Rizal in particular, (and then, Bonifacio and Mabini later), would hark back to the "malinis na kalooban" that animated our leaders of the old "bayan." The ilustrados had to discover what was distinctly native so that they could extract from the Spanish government recognition of autonomy and independence for Filipinas.

Prof. Naguit, following the definition of a "strong state" of Amando Doronila, pointed to the need of a bureaucracy that would not respond to personal and clan interests. The structures of such a government would be able to pass and implement laws with national patrimony as guiding principle and oblivious of vested interests. It however presupposes the highest standards of statesmanship on the part of government officials. Such a government should be able to respond to public demands of clean government, accountability and efficient public service.

On the other hand, Dr. de Vera showed through a power point presentation the evolution of the Filipino nation-state that was scuttled by the "colonial interlude" under Spain, US and Japan. According to him, there were various loci of cultural, political and social developments that all responded to the particularities of geography and history. The most defined locus was of course the area governed by the sultanates in Mindanao and Sulu. But looking at the cultural landscape, we could easily see that there were well-defined Ilocano, Tagalog, Bicol and Visayan regions. These could become the basis of a federal system in which laws and administrative structures appropriate to each could be established.

The theme of the seminar took particular relevance with the Rizal Day declaration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that she would not be running for president in 2004. Likewise, there were articles subsequently published in leading newspapers about the need for a politics based on morality as exemplified by our national hero (e.g. Pablo Trillana, Rizal and Moral Philippines, PDI, November 30, 2002) and the need for a strong republic as prerequisite for economic development (e.g. Rigoberto Tiglao, A Strong State is key to economic growth, PDI, January 4-5, 2003). These events showed that there seems to be a convergence of thinking as to the need for dialogue and discussion that would become the basis of what we should become as a nation.