The Kalibapi and the Filipino

Citation preview

UC- NRLF XM04 .01404

MAIN B

4 897 826

158 - B

The

Kalibapi

the

and

Filipino

ASSOCIATION FOR SERVICE TO THE NEW PHILIPPINES KAPISANAN SA PAGLILINGKOD SA BAGONG PILIPINAS

MANILA BUREAU OF PRINTING 1943 4032

The

Kalibapi

the

and

Filipino

ASSOCIATION FOR SERVICE TO THE NEW PHILIPPINES KAPISANAN SA PAGLILINGKOD SA BAGONG PILIPINAS

MANILA BUREAU OF PRINTING 1943 4032

CONTENTS

Page PREFACE I. THE KALIBAPI AN ASSOCIATION FOR SERVICE II . THE KALIBAPI AN ORGANIZATION OF, BY , AND FOR FI

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13

LIPINOS III. THE KALIBAPI FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND REHABILI TATION IV . THE KALIBAPI FOR UNIFICATION

V. THE KALIBAPI FOR COÖRDINATION VI. THE KALIBAPI FOR STABILITY VII. THE KALIBAPI FOR ADVANCEMENT

17 21 25 28 32

VIII. THE KALIBAPI AND PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT ..

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IX . THE KALIBAPI AND THE CO - PROSPERITY SPHERE. X. THE KALIBAPI AND INDEPENDENCE AND INTERDEPEN DENCE

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42 3

PREFACE HE ASSOCIATION for Service

to the New Philippines, Kapi

sanan Sa Paglilingkod Sa Bagong Pilipinas, in the Filipino Lan guage, or KALIBAPI for short, was established by Executive Order No. 109 issued December 4, 1942. It was inaugurated on Decem ber 8 , and formally launched on December 30 , 1942 , a date made memorable and historic by Rizal's immolation in 1896. He gladly gave his life on a December morn of that fateful year that our Eden lost might be regained. The Association was given legal existence by the issuance of the KALIBAPI charter, Executive Order No. 109 , which provides that: " Any Filipino, not less than 18 years of age , who identifies himself with the ideals, aims, and purposes of the Asso ciation and who is of good standing in the community may qualify as a member thereof." This Executive Order was subsequently amended by Executive Order No. 156 so as to organize a JUNIOR KALIBAPI. One of the amendments provides:

That any Filipino, less than 18 years of age , who likewise believes in the ideals, aims, and purposes of the Association and who is of good standing in the community , may also qualify as a junior member thereof, and for this purpose a Junior Kalibapi shall be established .” The KALIBAPI charter enumerates the main purposes of the Association as follows:

“ ( 1) To render such services as will bring about the ra pid reconstruction of the Philippines and the rehabilitation of its people , for which purpose , it shall strive (a) to secure the unification of the Filipino people of all classes through the development in them and among them of the conviction that the permanent security , well -being, and happiness of the Filipinos depends on the permanent security of the Phil ippines; and ( b ) to coördinate all activities and services of organizations or individuals that are or may hereafter be concerned with the development or promotion of the wel fare of the people socially, spiritually , physically, culturally, economically or otherwise ; 5

6 “ (2 ) To insure a stable foundation for the New Philip pines by fostering ( a) the cultural, moral, spiritual, and economic advancement of the people by giving encourage ment to the above-mentioned activities and by invigorating in them such oriental virtues as hard work , faith , self-reliance, loyalty, bravery, discipline, and self -sacrifice; and ( b) the development of a more sturdy and vigorous race of Fi lipinos by attending to the physical development of the people through a wise supervision of physical exercise and wholesome recreational and outdoor activities, particularly sports, and athletic meets and contests; ‘ (3 ) To assist the Filipino people in fully comprehending the significance of, and to strengthen their adherence to, the principles of the Greater East Asia Co -Prosperity Sphere ; “ ( 4 ) To secure for the New Philippines its rightful place in the Greater East Asia Co -Prosperity Sphere as a worthy member thereof; “ ( 5 ) To adhere strictly to the policies of the Imperial Japanese Forces in the Philippines in their administration and to render service in the establishment of the Greater East Asia Co - Prosperity Sphere; and ( 6 ) To do any and all acts which will facilitate the re construction of the New Philippines, and contribute to the advancement of the Greater East Asia Co - Prosperity Sphere . "

In order that the aims, ideals, and objectives of the Association may be better understood, the central office of the KALIBAPI restated the purposes in simpler form under ten headings. They were succinctly presented thus : 1. The KALIBAPI is an association for service to the New Philippines. It is my duty to help it . 2. The KALIBAPI is an organization of, by, and for Fi lipinos. I believe in its high and noble ideals, aims, and purposes. I am a member of the KALIBAPI and proud of it. 3. The KALIBAPI is formed to bring about the rapid re construction of the Philippines and the rehabilitation of the people. I will coöperate. 4. The KALIBAPI is to secure the unification of the Fi lipino people of all classes. I must have the spirit of unity , for in union there is strength . 5. The KALIBAPI is to coördinate all activities and serv ices of organizations or individuals concerned with promot ing the welfare of the people physically, economically, so cially, culturally, spiritually, and otherwise. I shall do my full part.

7 6. The KALIBAPI is to insure a stable basis for the New Philippines. I must aid to make the foundation of an in dependent Philippines strong and enduring. 7. The KALIBAPI fosters the cultural, moral, spiritual, and economic advancement of the Filipino people by streng thening such virtues as hard work , faith, self-reliance, loy alty , bravery , discipline, and self-sacrifice . I shall strive to be a good Oriental and a true Filipino. 8. The KALIBAPI stands for the development of a more sturdy and vigorous race of Filipinos. I must be healthy and strong . 9. The KALIBAPI aids the Filipinos to understand the significance of the Greater East Asia Co - Prosperity Sphere and the role that the Philippines should play in the com munity of coöperating nations in the Orient. I must know the principles of neighborliness and coöperation and render service to make the Philippines a worthy member of the Sphere. 10. The KALIBAPI is to do any and all acts that will advance the ideals and causes of independence and inter dependence. I must be efficient and self -directing in sacrifi cial service to ideals and causes which are more precious than property and life.

The present publication bearing the title THE KALIBAPI AND THE FILIPINO implements the important purposes of the Asso ciation . It is issued in order that the KALIBAPI may become better understood and more widely accepted . The hope is cher ished that in due course every Filipino who truly loves his country shall come to realize that the KALIBAPI is his very own and, like Rizal, shall consecrate " his golden hours, his illusions, his enthusiasm , ” his very life, if need be, for the sake of an independent Philippines, actively playing its role as a full - fledged member and a coöperating unit in the community of nations of Greater East Asia and of the world . -CAMILO OSIAS August 12 , 1943 .

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CHAPTER I THE KALIBAPI. AN ASSOCIATION FOR SERVICE

i HE KALIBAPI is an association for service to the New Phil THE KALIBAPIis an association for serviceto the New Phil ippines. It is a body of persons united for a high purpose and a common object. The KALIBAPI is an organization to promote the interests not of any individual or any group of in dividuals but of all the people of the Philippines. Membership in it is not obligatory but voluntary .

The members are men and

women , young and old, imbued with the spirit of coöperation, teamwork , association. Like-minded , they are moved by a lofty ideal, the ideal of service . Service is the true measure of greatness. greatest who serves best.

That individual is

The Filipino who is most patriotic is

he who unselfishly and disinterestedly lives richly and works in telligently for the country that gave him birth . He ranks highest who does the most good . When Christ's disciples wrangled as to which among them would sit at the right hand of the Master in Heaven, He was saddened and gave them a rebuke and a needed lesson saying: " Let him who would be chiefest among you be the servant of all.” The Filipino who loved his country most effectively was Rizal. He passionately loved the Philippines. He showed his love in thought and in deed . For country he studied as a boy and la bored as a man . He accumulated knowledge and acquired skills to be serviceable . For love of country he intoned hymns of pa triotism which breathe sentiments so noble and elevated that they truly partake of the divine . His sublime verses that have come to be known as Maria Clara's Song are the full flowering of a spirit that was aflame with patriotic fervor.

" Sweet are the hours in one's native land, Where all is dear the sunbeams bless; Life - giving breezes sweep the strand, And death is softened by love's caress. " Warm kisses play on mother's lips, When on her tender breast we wake, While " round her neck the soft arm slips And fond eyes in her love partake.

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" It is sweet for one's own land to die, Where all is dear the sunbeams bless; Dead is the breeze that sweeps the strand , Without a home, a mother , or love's caress. For his idolized Philippines, Rizal wrote poems, essays, and novels which, if properly read and understood , engender love and devotion , pure and unselfish . Living in an epoch when the Filipino was considered inferior and referred to in derision as Indio, he showed by dint of industry the Filipino's true worth . In an era when the foreign rulers disdained all that was native, he dignified things Philippine and vindicated the Filipino. He gave impetus to the mission of glorifying what was good and sweet and beautiful in his island country .

He employed his rare

talent and consummate skill to deepen appreciation of our country's hills and mountains, its valleys and plains, its lakes and seas , its impetuous rivers and its springs with their crystalline waters. He aroused Filipino pride in the forests with their eternal verdure, the palms and bamboos in their exuberance , and the fields of grain and grass forming a green carpet over the fertile plains. He immortalized in prose and in verse the simple hut of fragile nipa ( frágil nipa) and of frail bamboo ( débil caña ), the roses and flowers, and the quiet serenity of free life in a barrio or village. For his land adored, he zealously labored and served .

By his

cheerful readiness to die for his country he is recognized as a patriot. To the rulers who sought his downfall and discouraged love of country in the Filipino, Rizal gave this eloquent answer : " Patriotism can only be a crime in a tyrannical people, because then it is rapine under a beautiful name ; but however perfect humanity may become, patriotism will al ways be a virtue among oppressed peoples Rizal enriched the vocabulary of patriotism .

His was a sound

patriotism. It was of the sacrificial type. It is some such love of the Philippines that the KALIBAPI

seeks to enkindle in the heart of every Filipino in the fond and prayerful hope that such love shall express itself in constructive service.

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The Philippines is more than a symbol.

It expresses a high

and noble concept. It is significant that, when the Filipino people were permitted to formulate and adopt a Constitution that would

!

express the genius of the race, their representatives chose " The Philippines ” as the official name for their country. It was distinct from " the Insular Possessions" by which these benighted isles

:

of the tropical seas were called while under American occupation . The new designation, too, was given a connotation distinct from the old term " Las Islas Filipinas" or " the Philippine Islands " both of which are in the plural suggestive of dispersion , even division . The two names recall the Machiavellian maxim of im perialistic colonizers - Divide et impera or divide and govern . The elected representatives of the Filipinos wanted to explode that

maxim .

They

wished

no

country

divided

against

itself.

While preserving whatever good and historic there was in the designation by which the country had become known to the world and by which it is referred to in numerous books and documents, they chose " The Philippines " , in the singular, to accentuate sol idarity, compactness, unity .

It is this concept of oneness that

should animate every Filipino who embraces the KALIBAPI and is obedient to the KALIBAPI'S mandate to lead a life of fruitful service , The KALIBAPI goes a step further and enjoins the Filipino to serve the New Philippines, Bagong Pilipinas . The concept of oneness is maintained in all its pristine majesty. But the times brought about fundamental changes. The Philippines is a new country ; we must make of it a paradise regained . The New Philippines finds its rebirth under a new order of things. It blossoms forth amid disturbance and confusion . It un

dergoes reawakening ; it experiences spiritual regeneration amidst changed and changing conditions. The New Philippines becomes what it was unable to become for centuries under Western domination . It becomes free. The independence, which her sons and daughters, yes, a long line of heroes and martyrs were unable to wrest from the hands of a Western power, is received from an Oriental power. It comes as a fruition of an age -long aspiration . The present generation and posterity must give their full service to a country reborn — the New Philippines, Bagong Pilipinas. The duty of the Filipino of this new epoch is to effect adjust

ments to a changing civilization . He needs to do it with ac celerated tempo . The Filipino has to experience a rebirth. There

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will, of course, be pains, tears, even gnashing of teeth .

Suffering

is inevitable in all cases of travail. But after the storm, the calm . After the night comes the new sun in all its splendor and radiance . The Filipino must know the pangs of suffering for the New Phil ippines, free and independent, in order to reap the glory that comes only through sacrifice . When every Filipino will be possessed of the fire of service, when every heart shall be aglow with new resolve , then this beautiful land of ours shall indeed be a Bagong Pilipinas.

But

the spirit of service must become the urge, not of one, not of two, not of a few, not of some, not even of the many only , but of all. We must all help to make Rizal's dream of the Philippines come true, make it the Pearl of the Orient Seas. We must associate in service to the New Philippines. will of every Filipino.

The will to serve has to be the

CHAPTER II THE KALIBAPI AN ORGANIZATION , OF, BY, AND FOR FILIPINOS

HE KALIBAPI is a union of persons banded together for Tithe common good. It is foundedemon uponnandinterdualistic idea but upon a social concept. It is first and last a people's move It is from the idea of a popular movement serving the people that it derives its being an association or an organization . The KALIBAPI is an organization of Filipinos. The short and simple word “ of ” has many connotations. Out of them we may ment.

choose such meanings as out of, as a result of, belonging to, related to, connected with , about, concerning. The KALIBAPI assumed an organizational form out of social needs , demands, in It came as a result of the consciousness of the Filipinos to coördinate their resources and combine their forces need of the to achieve definite objectives. The organization and its aims are directly and vitally related to what the Filipinos hold dear and precious. They are connected with crystallized traditions and well

terests.

It is an organization about Filipinos concerned with their customs and idiosyncracies, their culture and civilization . The KALIBAPI is an organization by Filipinos. The word " by"

defined aspirations.

has meanings such as because of, through the agency of, through the action of. Were there no Philippines nor Filipinos, there would be no KALIBAPI. It came into existence because of Filipinos. It works through the agency of a program of service and of ac tivities conceived and carried out by Filipinos. It will grow and prosper through the action of Filipinos. The KALIBAPI is an association for Filipinos. " For" signifies by reason of, for the sake of, for the love of, in support of, owing to the fact that. As an organization it owes its raison d'etre in virtue of the Filipinos' association in a common enterprise. The KALIBAPI moves and has its being in the life of Filipinos conscious of their common interests. It owes its formation to the fact that the Filipinos wish to evolve a nation and work out their destiny.

The members serve, labor, and sacrifice for the love of

a common life - efficient, self -directing, and happy.

The KALI 13

1.

14

BAPI will succeed in proportion as it functions in support of the organic community and continuity of common interests among Filipinos. Up to this point it may appear that the emphasis is on the fact

of the KALIBAPI being an organization ; or that it is an associa tion of Filipinos; or that it is a movement by Filipinos; or that it is an organization for Filipinos. Each of these ideas is important But the greatest emphasis should be on Filipinos. The KALIBAPI is an organization of, by, and for Filipinos. This being so, we call on every Filipino to be imbued with a strong national spirit. Filipinos owe it to themselves to cultivate a high sense of citizenship . They must feel, think, and act as a people belonging to one nation . Their consciousness of nationalism

and meaningful.

invests their life with new dignity . It clothes their activities with deep meaning. It gives their hopes and aspirations high elevation . It behooves every Filipino to bestir himself and give of his time and of his effort unstintedly to the setting up of an inde pendent country loved and cherished by Filipinos, a nation which, through industry and education , will have an individuality of its own , From this idea of an independent nation with a distinct in dividuality should stem a new determination to develop a more truly Philippine culture through processes of revival and revision . It is a source of pride that despite their long history of domina tion , first by Spain and later by the United States, the Filipinos have managed to preserve and cultivate a culture that is basically Filipino. Now a golden opportunity is open to the inhabitants of the New Philippines to make more robust the culture and civili zation of the Philippines because Japan, an Oriental and friendly country, not only is encouraging but is actually urging Filipinos to return to the Oriental fold , strengthen their Oriental consciousness, and make Filipino life abundant and rich . The KALIBAPI which might have been organized under any

regime assumed organizational life not only because the Japanese Empire has given us encouragement but because it has presented a new challenge. That challenge consists of her spontaneous offer of according national independence to the Filipinos in the course of the current year, 1943 . As these lines are written, we are counting months, even weeks. It is inspiring and glorious that many of the living who had almost given up hope because of the inability of themselves and their ancestors to achieve their coveted independence for centuries will

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at last see its advent not at some vague and distant future but immediately within a few months. Many of the older generation truly glory in the fact that they will still witness the realization of the independence which has been their dream . Those of the younger generation should deem it a high privilege that in the dawn of their lives the tree of liberty planted and nurtured by their fathers and forefathers should bear fruit and that theirs is the opportunity to reap the harvest. The Filipinos would be less than human if they did not feel

grateful to the Oriental power and neighbor that is Japan for the generous proffer of Philippine independence . This is no time for hesitation or indecision . We must act as men of courage and of vision . We can best show our genuine appreciation and our real gratitude by a determined facing of realities and by busying ourselves with solving pressing problems. Among the problems that present themselves for immediate con sideration and serious attention are ( 1 ) the formulation of a constitution ; ( 2 ) the selection of officials to be at the helm of State; ( 3 ) the setting up of the new government with the attendant reorganizations and readjustments; (4) the study of finance and restudy of taxation and reallocation of funds; ( 5) the redefinition of financial and other relations among the central, provincial, and municipal governments ; (6) the determination of currency; ( 7 ) the economic adjustment and economic preparation for indepen dent life; ( 8 ) the vitalizing of agricultural, commercial, and in dustrial program including the development of fishing and fish eries; ( 9 ) the determination of the relation between labor and capital; ( 10 ) the conservation and development of our natural resources; (11 ) the adjustment of trade relations between Japan and the Philippines and between the Philippines and other coun tries ; ( 12 ) the restudy of the judicial system to be implanted ; ( 13) the question of national defense, motivating the pacification program for the restoration and maintenance of peace and order; ( 14) the unifying of control and systematizing of transportation and communication systems; ( 15 ) the program of health and san itation including the establishment of emergency hospitals and clinics; ( 16 ) the adoption of a progressive program of public welfare; ( 17 ) the solving of unemployment and rehabilitation ; ( 18 ) the cultural re -orientation of the people through education ; ( 19 ) the adoption of a long -range program for our physical, social, and spiritual re -awakening; (20 ) the organization of our national

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life on a peace basis in a post-war world; (21) and the reshaping of our individual, national, and international life to make the in dependence of the Philippines real, effective, and enduring. The very magnitude of the task and the very complexity of the numerous problems that beset us demand quick thinking, careful planning, and bold decision . It fell upon the lot of the KALIBAPI, as an organization of, by, and for Filipinos, to nom inate the members that should compose the Preparatory Com mission for Philippine Independence. The men selected by the KALIBAPI at its First National Convention were sustained by the Japanese Military authorities and were enjoined immediately to proceed with its difficult labors. The members of the Preparatory Commission and others who integrate the membership of the KALIBAPI must be proud of their new opportunity . Every Fi lipino must be proud to bear his share of the duties and respon sibilities ahead and must have the determination and persistence to achieve success .

1 1 1 CHAPTER III THE KALIBAPI FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND REHABILITATION ISTORY has recorded the awful ravages of the first World H , and dead ; innocent civilians killed, wounded , or dispossessed of their property ; families reduced to penury ; non - combatants plunged in misery; villages, towns, and cities shattered , and fields

laid waste. And there were other material and social ravages of that bloody conflict all of which have been well -nigh forgotten because many have become callous to the misery, suffering, and other evils that that war brought in its wake. This second World War has likewise and, to an even greater degree, occasioned dis locations and destructions, losses of life, and other tragedies. It is not our purpose to dwell on the gloomy aspects of life but it is necessary to refer to losses in property and life, the destruction of indispensable structures, the collapse or full aban donment of certain standards of conduct, " the break - down of the commerce of mind and culture” in order to accentuate the neces sity of concerted effort and systematic activities for reconstruction and rehabilitation . In our country we have felt the adverse effects of this global conflict.

We were caught in the maelstrom of this unprecedented war through none of our choosing. Its scourge has been brought

home to us. and prosper .

If we are a wise people , we must will to survive The KALIBAPI came into being just at such an

epoch as this charged with the duty " to render such services as will bring about the rapid reconstruction of the Philippines and the rehabilitation of its people ..." The common task to be shouldered by our people is truly her culean .

If to the burdens imposed by the difficulties and disturb

ances of the war we add the obligations and responsibilities of nation -building, because of Japan's historic offer of independence within this year , the magnitude of the enterprise upon which we are embarked stands out in bold relief. The charter enjoins the KALIBAPI to assist in bringing about rapid reconstruction . - It is not just ordinary routine work 17 4032 3

that

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we have to perform . Life can not be conducted as of old . Business as usual will not do. There must be better coördination , greater union , real acceleration of the tempo of life in all its phases. The program of reconstruction has two phases. There is the immediate work of reconstruction and there is the long -range

program of reconstruction. There are certain activities that ad mit of no delay . Among these may be mentioned the return of the population from the mountains or evacuation camps to their homes and their communities ; the resumption of their daily chores and productive pursuits ; the rebuilding of houses, roads, and bridges; the stepping up of the program of production ; the se curing of complete peace and order. Then, of course, with the return of normalcy , with the reëstablishment of complete peace and the setting up of a new governmental structure, the work of reconstruction will by no means cease ; in fact it should be given greater motivation and direction . In reconstruction , thought must be given to those activities essential to adjusting life to emergency couditions and to the less spectacular but even more exacting work of reconstruction in a post-war world . Now and after the termination of this second World War there will still be battles to be waged on all fronts. The individual and the State will have to come to grips with war on four common and persistent enemies — ignorance, disease, poverty , and crime. These, indeed, are eternal problems with which every Filipino and every social agency and every social institution in the country will have ever and always to contend . The home, the school, the church, and every other educative and social institution have to exert their utmost and, at increased pace, to fight ignorance. Men and institutions of health and welfare have to put forth greater exertions to fight ill health and ill fare and effect radical improvement. The work must be constant . The workers must be active and vigilant. Disease occasions inefficiency. It is like wise an economic liability . Health conditions must be favorable to individual and social progress . There must, of course, be reconstruction work along economic lines.

People in want are not the best assets of the nation.

The

economic basis of life needs strengthening. The standard of living of the people has to be raised. This can be accomplished in part by better observance of scientific methods and by inculcating in the people, young and old , deeper love of labor .

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Every individual, every family, and every agency of the State must coördinate their efforts to fight crime and disorder. People must be informed . In the new world order the ignorant will be either left behind or cast aside . Individuals and communities have to be enlightened . The KALIBAPI is an institution of public en lightenment. Without the reign of law , peace, and order, there can be no se curity of either property or life . The KALIBAPI is thoroughly coöperating with the pacification program and is doing its full part to motivate the campaign. The people have to undertake worthwhile activities .

They must have a clear vision of the grander

Philippines that is to be . The war has brought in its train much dislocation in many a family and in many a home . Many have become widows and orphans. A large number who have participated in the battle front or have been in concentration camps and who have since been released were found suffering from malaria, dysentery , or some other disease . Much rehabilitation work needs to be done with such individuals to restore them to their normal health and place them on the road to relative economic competence. The work of rehabilitation must be of a three - fold variety preventive, constructive, and ameliorative . Health and welfare agencies are doing much along these lines.

The Filipino who

believes in the aims and objectives of the KALIBAPI must get behind the activities of the administrative set- up as the KALIBAPI is behind the national program of reconstruction and rehabili tation. Rehabilitation may be physical .

It must make for health and

vigor. Rehabilitation may be economic .

It must encourage people to

engage in food production, in vegetable gardening, in the raising of poultry, goats, and pigs . It must also develop work projects suited to the persons and families affected and the environmental conditions obtaining in their community. There are any number of industrial activities that may be developed thereby decreasing the number of the idle and the unemployed and increasing the number of those who follow profitable vocational and avocational pursuits.. Rehabilitation may be mental . Many old concepts have become outworn or outmoded . These have to be recast. Our outlook, our attitude, our mentality , and our ways of thinking need read justment and re - orientation .

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Rehabilitation may be 'spiritual.

Mere bodily rehabilitation is

We have to work with the spirit. The spirit of the individual and of the nation needs stiffening. Much is being

not enough .

said and written these days about spiritual rejuvenaton . We must indeed regenerate our spirit, for the world of today and in the future will not be the world of yesterday. The second World War has been a war waged on all fronts. No war in the past is quite like it. It is a total war involving physical, mental, moral, and spiritual resources and forces. At such times as these no citizen can afford to be indifferent or lethargic. In a fast -changing civilization and a quick -moving world , the tempo of life has to be accelerated . If the nation is to survive and prosper, every Filipino under the standard of the KALIBAPI has to play his full part in this challenging task of rapid reconstruction and rehabilitation .

CHAPTER IV THE KALIBAPI FOR UNIFICATION STORY is told of a loving father who, on the eve of his AA death, called for his six sons. When all the boys were gathered around, he told them to get twelve sticks. Obediently the sons secured a dozen sticks without knowing just what the father wanted with them . He then said, “ My sons, take one stick apiece.' Each one provided himself with a stick. The father ordered, " Now, break the stick ."

Each boy easily broke the stick. “ Very well,” said the father, “ Now , take the six remaining sticks and tie them together." One of the sons picked up the six sticks and tied them together . The father then said, " Now break them ." The boy could not break the six sticks together. had each one of the boys try to break the six sticks . able to break the sticks.

The father None was

The father then said, “My sons, I had you do this for me before I die. You see that each one of you could easily break one stick but none could break the six sticks that were tied together. You should know that when you are separated every one of you will be weak , but when you are united you are strong.

In union there

is strength . ” The sons received from their father a great moral inheritance. In the life of nations as in the life of individuals, the spirit of unity is essential for in union there is strength . The KALIBAPI has for one of its great objectives that of strengthening the soli darity of the Philippines and the union of the Filipino people. In the language of the KALIBAPI charter or Executive Order No. 109, it is “ to secure the unification of the Filipino people of all classes ..." In the words of the Highest Commander of the Imperial Japanese Army, “ The KALIBAPI represents a people's movement on a large scale dedicated to the cause of the New Philippines on the basis of solid unity among social, cultural, and economic circles in the Philippines." In the social development of the Filipinos, devotion to family

ties has been a persistent virtue. Here, as in other progressive societies, the family has been the basic social unit. The early so 21

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cial organization was enlarged to form what was originally known as the barangay . The barangay comes from the name of the boat on which our Malayan ancestors sailed the seas leaving their native habitations and in successive waves came to the Philip pines to found settlements and establish homes of their own . Just as several members constituted a family, so a number of families constituted themselves into a barangay. Upon this social structure the Spanish administrators built the political structure that they set up in the Philippines. Recognition was given to the cabeza de barangay or head of barangay. The neighborhood associations that have been organized under the new regime are not unlike the barangay system of old. Settlements grew up at first along the coasts or at the mouths of rivers and other streams. Many of the early settlements were widely scattered and were far apart . The difficulties of commu nication and transportation, the distribution of settlements in different isles, and the primitive methods of travel militated against the formation of unity among the different social groups. There was in fact general indifference toward union . But gradually by slow and arduous steps they developed a more pronounced spirit of unity. The need of our ancestors' meeting difficulties, their having to fight common enemies , and finally the recognition of the need

of coördinating their resources and uniting their forces in order to throw off the Spanish yoke, fostered among the Filipinos a more dynamic spirit of nationalism . This was manifested in the national Revolution of 1896 , in the war for independence against the United States, and later in the formation of common social institutions and the establishment of a central government in Manila whose jurisdiction extended to every nook and corner of the Philippines. Under the American regime and under the Phil ippine Commonwealth the Filipinos made more real the union and solidarity among them . To the development of greater unity Rizal and other patriots of his epoch contributed greatly. We see in the writings of Rizal frequent emphasis on unión y solidaridad , union and solidarity . The Filipino champions of reform in Europe formed themselves into an association and called themselves solidarios. They named the fortnightly organ which they utilized for the expression of their views La Solidaridad . In one of the few speeches of Rizal which we have on record delivered on the occasion of the cele bration for the triumph of the Filipino artists, Juan Luna and

23

Resurreccion Hidalgo, he gave expression to noble sentiments of progressive solidarity in the following words: " The patriarchal era of the Philippines is passing; the illustrious deeds of its sons are no longer circumscribed to the home; the Oriental chrysallis is leaving its cocoon ; the dawn of a long day is heralded for those regions in bright tints and rosy hues, and that race, made ļethargic during the night of history while the sun was shining in other lands, is awakening anew, shaken by the electric shock produced by the contact with the Occidental peoples, and demands light, life, and the civilization which time shall give as a heritage, confirming thus the eternal laws of constant evo lution , of transformation , of periodicity, of progress .' In his maturer years, Rizal conceived the idea of organizing Filipinos into one common league known as the Liga Filipina. In the enumeration of the objects of the organization he stressed five points the first of which was " to unite the whole archipelago into one compact and homogeneous country ”. The idea of uniting the people was his obsession till his dying moment. He realized the need of the people becoming solidly united in order to achieve triumph and substantial progress. In these epochal times, especially on the eve of a free and independent existence, the people need more than ever to effect

a strong and lasting union.

They must be imbued with a higher

sense of citizenship and a stronger national spirit. One basis of nationality is a common country . A country may consist of a common territory . This country known as The Phil ippines is composed of several islands and their territorial waters . Another basis of common nationality is a consciousness of race . Hitherto under conditions of dependency the Filipino race was relegated by the foreign rulers to the category of an inferior. Several of our greatest leaders, dead and living, have labored much and sacrificed greatly to vindicate the Filipino race and to imbue the inh bitants of this country with a new sense of racial dignity. One of the contributions of Japan in waging the Greater East Asia War is precisely found in her bold and coura geous assertion of racial dignity thereby elevating the level of the Oriental in the eyes of the nations of the world . Another essential factor in a true nationalistic spirit is to be found in language. Although there are different languages used in the Philippines, the native ones spring from a common origin . There are words that are similar and many of the concepts in the various languages are the same in all parts of the Philippines. More recently a new impetus was given to the development and

24

popularization of a common national language based essentially on the most commonly used and best developed, the Tagalog language. Religion likewise is a contributory factor to the achievement of a national homogeneity. While there are pagans and Moham medans in the Philippines, it is known that about 92 per cent of the people have embraced the Christian faith . A history replete with armed uprisings and rebellions against cruelty and oppression necessarily contributes to welding the people into one . The common traditions that have been built and to which the people owe common loyalty and from which they de rive a common pride may be said truly to form a basis for a stronger nationality. :

Then there is in the Philippines a common culture that is bas ically Filipino. It is true that several streams of cultures have

had their impact upon Philippine life and have necessarily made their influences felt. Yet the essence of our culture is truly Oriental or, if you please, Filipino. In this present epoch there is a new motive for a revival and a revision of Philippine culture to the end that there may evolve in our country a truly Filipino culture basically Oriental yet hospitable to the infiltration of what ever good may come from other cultures or civilizations. With the encouragement being given to the Filipinos to develop their own culture and to acquire a deeper consciousness of their being of the Oriental fold, there is no question that a new cultural re awakening will be witnessed in the Philippines. Every one of the factors named and a few others that could be mentioned is important. Each has a contribution to a common nationality. But no single factor may be deemed sufficient to form the essence of a vigorous national spirit. If territory or race or language or religion or tradition or culture is not the true and adequate basis of nationality, what then is the essence of nationality that will conduce most effectively to the strengthening of union among the Filipino people ?

Our answer may be com

pressed in a terse statement. The essence of nationality is the organic community and continuity of common interests. The KALIBAPI as an association to unify all Filipinos of all classes must foster a deeper and more widespread consciousness

of this sense of organic community and continuity of common in terests among all elements. In this consciousness and with a vision of a common destiny there must blossom forth in the Phil ippines a stronger and a more enduring spirit of union and soli darity .

.

.

CHAPTER V

THE KALIBAPI FOR COÖRDINATION TNDER normal conditions it is essential to unify our forces and U Nebbrainaternalpreslitices toachievethe maximum ofprogress ! In extraordinary times the need for unity and coördination is even

more imperious. The KALIBAPI charter enjoins the Association to strengthen the union of the Filipinos of all classes . Every Filipino is ex pected to have a clear consciousness of the importance of the permanent security of the Philippines. Upon this depends in a great measure the well- being and happiness of the people. Besides working for unification the KALIBAPI'S program of work includes the coördination of " all activities and services of organizations or individuals that are or may hereafter be

con

cerned with the development or promotion of the welfare of the people socially, spiritually , physically, culturally, economically or otherwise " . Members of the Association must labor earnestly and with singleness of purpose toward achieving this laudable objective. Coördination does not mean absorption. It does not mean du plication .

Coördination means orienting toward a collective goal.

It means complementing and supplementing worthwhile activ ities of organizations and services of individuals to secure the greatest and fullest measure of efficiency , self - direction, and happiness. Coördination means organizing and directing activities and serv ices to advance the common welfare and the nation's interests. It means getting like-minded individuals to labor together for the common good. It means getting organizations of like purposes and related activities to work together in coöperation . It means cheerful and willing subordination of individual interests for the benefit of the greatest number or the larger whole .

It means

systematic working for definite results and adopting methods less wasteful of energy , of time, and of resources.

Coördination is getting organizations and individuals to know and adopt the most economical and the most expeditious way of carrying out the work of each as part of the common task . 25

26

The KALIBAPI in fostering coördination seeks to develop a higher idea of togetherness or teamwork . It brings about inte gration of efforts and methods. There is much waste and inefficiency in individuals or organi zations working separately or at cross purposes. Men or group of men habituated to the idea of teamwork or togetherness will not only reduce much lost motion but will increase their efficiency and effectiveness. It is as easy or easier to solve many problems of the same nature as it is to decide several cases of a similar type brought up separately . Through coördinated activities and services of in dividuals and organizations the time of highly - paid executives could be economized leaving them to devote the time consumed in rather unimportant routine to constructive service . Organizations and individuals that are not coördinated often are animated by rivalry or jealousy. There is unnecessary duplica tion of work and effort. They, for example, undertake studies and researches many of which have already been started or completed by other men or groups of men. In our country, where there is so much to do and the number of men to do the work well is rather limited, unnecessary duplication is inexcusable wastage waste of money , of energy, of resources. There is greater effectiveness in achieving results with the higher authorities if individuals and organizations form themselves

into associations or federations with well -selected leaders to carry on negotiations and secure prompt decisions . An example of cultural coördination is the recent action of the writers in various fields to organize themselves into the Kalipunan Ng Mga Manunulat Sa Pilipinas.

By banding together they may

pool their resources . They can also coördinate a program of studies and writings so that each member will be busy at some project and will be doing that which he is best qualified to do.

The

Association working as a unit is better able to foster the interests of each member. Through coördination the writers will have better and wider facilities for the publication of the products of their intellectual and literary efforts. This is but one phase of what should be done in the way of coördinating along cultural, social, and spiritual lines with a view

to achieving the maximum results with the minimum expenditure of efforts or by the better control, direction, or utilization of energy and effort.

27

In the field of health and physical education similar coördination is being undertaken by the Inter -Department Athletic Associa tion among the officers and employees of the government. The Department of Education , Health, and Public Welfare likewise is coördinating agencies and individuals devoted to the promotion of the health of the nation and the physical development of the citizens. Organized agencies like these which are doing their work well need popular backing and it is this that the KALIBAPI helps to give. In the economic field there has been in the past too much indi vidualism and not enough of coördination . There has been no effective associationism in action. There has not been enough of

the Tayo spirit animating our industrial enterprise. Consequently there has been no standardization of products as to quality and kind and therefore no large orders from big firms or the govern ment could be filled or complied with in a given time . Business and trade could not be conducted on a large scale in the old way . If we are to prosper in our industries and in other branches of our economic life, coöperation must become a habit. The spirit of associationism has to be fostered to do away with cutthroat competition and with the tendency to resort to questionable methods or to unwholesome rivalry . The second World War which is a total war should have by now convinced us of the futility of each individual working by and for himself. Our recent experience should predispose us to the hos pitable consideration of coördinated efforts. It should teach us to temper our spirit as a people , to develop a collective will, a national will to do and to dare . In dealing with other nations under an independent Philippines we must coördinate the activities and services of organizations and individuals to present a united front. If during and after the war we are not habituated to coördination , we shall be weak and will necessarily lag behind. Independence demands unifica tion and coördination within our borders for domestic purposes and in our relations with other nations of Greater East Asia and of the world .

CHAPTER VI

THE KALIBAPI FOR STABILITY HERE is admittedly a certain frailty in the old structure T of our country . The houses and buildings for the most part are temporary or at best semi- permanent. The very character of

the people shows a certain degree of weakness or instability.

This

is reflected by the commonly used phrase ningas cogon. The re cognition of this fact makes it necessary to apply a suitable remedy. Hence the need of the KALIBAPI, as an agency for reconstruc tion , to insure a stable foundation for the New Philippines. The Filipinos are unifying their efforts to build a superstructure that shall have the qualities of durability and permanence. Such a structure needs a foundation that is strong and solid . The people need to cultivate in themselves the virtues that make for persistence and sustained effort. The runner who quits in a race justly merits to be chastised.

The " quitter” in fact is detested in athletics or any other activity of life. Ever so many people are failures because they are good starters but not good finishers. Such folk lack stability of char acter . A nation to be enduring has to have citizens who finish what they start, do not quit the hard race of life, see things through . It was with an insight into human nature that the poet wrote : Success is failure turned inside out The silver tints of the clouds of doubt, And you can never tell how close you are ; It may be nearer when it seems afar; So stick to the fight when you are hardest hit , It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit. The chosen Filipinos who framed the Constitution had a vision of a nation stable and enduring. In the numerous drafts of the preamble submitted , some began with such phrases as “ We, the delegates , " or " We, the representatives of the people.” These were rejected and the members of the Constitutional Convention voted on the term “The Filipino people.”

The process of reason

ing that led to this choice was that “ the delegates" 28

or "the

29

representatives” were transient while "the Filipino people” would be an entity that is continuing. Like the proverbial brook, de legates or representatives may come and go but the Filipino people will go on forever. In further reinforcement of the idea of stability and continuity is the use of the term “ posterity .” The framers of the Consti tution were men of vision because they desired to " secure to themselves and their posterity the blessings of independence ..." It must always be with the idea of continuity of the Filipino people and of permanence of the Philippines that the KALIBAPI and its loyal members live and serve. To this end the new and independent Philippines must rest on a stable basis. A country has a territorial basis . The national territory was defined in the Constitution in the following language: " The Philippines comprises all the territory ceded to the United States by the treaty of Paris concluded between the United States and Spain on the tenth day of December, eighteen hundred and ninety - eight, the limits of which are set forth in Article III of said treaty, together with all the islands embraced in the treaty concluded at Washing ton, between the United States and Spain on the seventh day of November, nineteen hundred, and in the treaty concluded between the United States and Great Britain in the second day of January, nineteen hundred and thirty, and all territory over which the present Government of the ' Philippine Islands exercises jurisdiction ." The foregoing is rather technical for the ordinary layman . serves, however, to bring out the country's territorial limits.

It

To understand our country we must know its physical condi tions, its lands and waters, and the territorial basis of national life.

The Philippines occupies a region stretching from north to

south in the Pacific like a string of pearls.

There are numerous

islands varying in size from little rocky projections above the sea to large islands like Luzon and Mindanao. The total area is about 115,000 square miles or about 298,000 square kilometers. The country lies wholly in the tropics. Its climate is rather benign , the temperature never going to the extremes .

There is sufficient

variety because of differences in altitude so that it is truly a land of palm and pine . The soil is fertile, adequate for the growth and cultivation of various food and commercial crops. The Phil ippines is large and rich enough to be the home not only of 18,000,000 but of 80,000,000 people .

30 A country also has its basis in resources . the waters themselves are resources .

The land, the soil,

But when we speak of

natural resources we usually think of the agricultural, forestal, mineral, and marine wealth . Agriculturally, the Philippines is a rich source of food products like rice, corn and all kinds of fruits and vegetables, useful crops like coconut, sugar, cotton, and hemp. The forests are among the richest of the country's resources. There is enough timber supply now for the needs of the present generation . It has been estimated that there are available in the neighborhood of 450,000,000,000 board feet of commercial timber from the existing stands. With proper forestation and reforesta tion the Philippines should be an exporter of log and timber to other countries for many years to come . The Philippines is rich in minerals; in fact, it is one of the most richly mineralized countries on earth. Iron and copper, chromite and manganese , gold and oil are known to exist in commercial quantities. Our marine resources are of inestimable value for they have been as yet undeveloped or unexploited. Within the territorial waters of the Philippines there are no less than two thousand varieties of fish . We may also take into account the sponges , the oysters , trepang, and shellfish the real worth of which is as yet unappre ciated. Without going further into other bases of life in the country, we make haste to point out that the Philippines in the ultimate analysis finds its most stable basis in its human resources.

The

different censuses that have been taken reveal that despite adver sities of every conceivable variety the Filipino people have grown and prospered . Scarcely 8,000,000 in the 1903 Census, the num ber of inhabitants today is conservatively estimated at 18,000,000 . With no heavy industries to speak of, with the light industries not well developed , with agricultural products limited and agricultural methods more or less primitive, this growth of population has been possible. It can well be imagined that the future holds much in store for us with improvements in health and sanitation and with an era of security and peace which we must envision even in these times of trouble and conflict. We do not tarry long to analyze the basis of the country in family life, in social classes, in social control, and other bases that could be mentioned . But we must not fail to mention one of the most stable, if not the most stable, bases of a nation , name ly, the basis in character or, if you please , the spiritual basis of

31

life.

What makes a nation strong ?

In the last analysis it is the

people who constitute the nation . A people who have pride in their past, a faith in their present, and confidence in their future give stability to a nation .

Citizens who are strong of body, robust

of mind, resolute of will, a people with a strong individual com munity and national spirit, such a people are destined to be progressive and enduring. The KALIBAPI is for stability . Its officials and members must gear their life and their activities so as to contribute in full measure toward securing the basis for the new Philippines. Theirs is the task of strengthening the moral fiber of every individual and strengthening the character and the spirit of the people. It is thus that the KALIBAPI shall contribute its full share to the country's stability serving as a link of a rich past and a richer future and serving at the same time as a link between this country and other countries.

:: CHAPTER VII

THE KALIBAPI FOR ADVANCEMENT S a part of the function to lay a solid and stable foundation A for partire and independentaPhilippines,the RALIBADI called upon to foster an all- round advancement of the people. As a popular institution it has to give encouragement to progress along physical , economic , cultural, moral, and spiritual lines. It must likewise strengthen these virtues that make an individual a good Oriental and a true Filipino. Among the qualities essen tial to good character which help give stability to the nation are hard work, faith, self-reliance, self -direction , loyalty, bravery, for titude, discipline, and self- sacrifice. It is a real cause for congratulation that Japan , which has waged a war avowedly for the liberation of Oriental peoples from Western imperialism and Occidental domination, is encouraging the Fili pinos to develop an Oriental consciousness and to cultivate a truly Philippine culture. The ravages of war will in part be com pensated by the people's discarding the feeling of inferiority com plex which long foreign domination engendered or tended to engender; by their acquiring a higher sense of racial dignity and pride ; by their having deeper respect for what is their very own ; by their increased love of the Philippines and things Oriental; and by their determination to revive and enrich Filipino culture and to bring about a real cultural renaissance . The Philippines under the new order has to witness material

and economic advancement.

The people, especially the young, have

to have a new outlook. Their concept of values needs recasting. A conviction that the country is rich enough in resources and pos sibilities to be virtually self -sufficient must take hold of the people. The different elements of our population must awaken to their opportunities. They must become industrious and productive. There are opportunities for material and economic advancement on every side. There are extensive public lands awaiting settle ment. More advanced methods of agriculture by the observance of seed selection , deeper plowing, better cultivation , and irriga tion would increase production manifold . The province of Cota bato developed agriculturally would produce sufficient rice to feed the present population of 18,000,000 .

The fishing industry is in its

infancy. The industrial development of the country has barely begun . The people's share in the trade and commerce is far from what it should be. In the field of transportation , in the matter of harnessing water power, in the utilization of forest products 32

33

and marine resources in these and many other lines of economic activity there is great room for every Filipino of vision, of courage, of initiative. Much has been said and written lately about cultural orienta tion , moral rejuvenation, and spiritual regeneration. These are all important. The KALIBAPI helps orient the mentality of the people to the high and noble objectives of our country.

It aids

in rejuvenating men and women in their attitudes and concepts. It assists in real spiritual regeneration. It is not enough that the physical basis be improved . It is not enough that there be economic advancement.

The moral fiber of the individual and the com

munity has to be strengthened. The spirit has to be stiffened, invigorated. In times of great crises man seeks anchorage in spirituality . The war has not only revolutionized the material forces of the world .

It has shaken culture and civilization to their very roots. It has altered and will alter ideologies. Times are these for serious stock - taking. Individuals need to

make earnest self- inventory to crystallize the virtues worth pre serving and to discard the qualities that weaken character. Indolence and non -productivity are positive liabilities.

Industry

and thrift become assets . The spirit of hard work must saturate life. Every Filipino must love work , work hard, and work in telligently , regularly, and systematically.

The professionals and

wage earners, artisans and artists have to engage in activities that add to human wealth - material, artistic, literary, and spiritual, The Filipinos need to strengthen their faith - faith in their past, faith in their present, faith in their future. They must carefully examine their heritage, develop themselves to the utmost, and seek to attain the highest level of which they are capable. The spirit of dependence will not do . Every individual and every community have to show self - reliance and self -direction . The Filipino people must fully realize that the highest blessings of life can not be expected to come from other peoples. These things must come from their own efforts, their own exertions . The people have to develop larger loyalties - loyalty to country, to ideals, to principles, to causes. Extreme individualism is out worn .

The selfish interests have to give way to the interests of

the whole, of an ever -expanding unit. There must be a ready disposition in each individual to be faithful and loyal to the com mon good, the public welfare. In tackling new problems that necessarily arise from a civiliza tion that is increasingly becoming more complex , the qualities of

34

bravery and fortitude are demanded. The citizens of the present generation have to inspire and inspirit themselves from the hal lowed spirits of their ancestors. They have to walk in the foot steps of men who were courageous in the face of adversity , patriots of heroic mold . More importance has to be given to discipline which in the past has been sadly lacking . The framers of the Constitution emphasized

personal

discipline

among

the

specific

objectives

which educational institutions should cultivate. The Japanese have exhibited a national discipline which deserves emulation , We should make these days of stress and difficulty the occasions for higher type of discipline in order that we may succeed in our enterprises which call for organizational capacity . Above all the spirit of self - sacrifice must be ingrained in our character. Fortunately for us there are many Filipino characters in history who have exhibited sacrifices of a high order . Several heroes and martyrs, living and dead, have shown patriotism of the sacrificial variety. Rizal, of course , is the highest example of heroic sacrifice. He was valiant in the defense of his people, brave and loyal in the service of a great cause , unceasing and indus trious in advancing the material, social, cultural, and spiritual progress of his country and people. Knowing full well that his enemies were to execute him , he yet exclaimed in transport of exultation : Gladly now I go to give thee this faded life's best , And were it brighter, fresher or more blest, Still would I give it thee nor count the cost. We do well to look upon Rizal as the symbol of manhood's sublimation indicative of what our nation and our people can become. For the full flowering of our native soul we need to incarnate in ourselves the very spirit of Rizal and other heroes who lived and labored, sacrificed and died for the freedom, the progress, the happiness of the Filipino people. The KALIBAPI, formally launched on December 30, 1942 , the anniversary of our greatest patriot's supreme sacrifice, has assumed the task of making real and widespread the virtues that so richly adorned the life and character of Jose Rizal. Upon this Association devolves the duty of implementing the Rizal way of life, the Filipino way of life for the purpose of advancing the economic, social, cultural, moral, and spiritual progress of the Philippines so that our country be loved may merit a place of honor in the society of efficient, self directing, and happy nations of the Orient and of the world .

CHAPTER VIII THE KALIBAPI AND PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT SENSIBLE view of life, individual and national, takes into A

account its physical basis. In developing a more sturdy and vigorous race of Filipinos, the health and physical well-being of the individuals who make up the nation can not be overlooked . Taking exercise regularly and participating in wholesome sports, games, and athletics have to become habits. Our people must consciously aim at improving the health of the individual and lengthening the span of life. That good health is basic has become one of the axioms of life. Without health there can be neither efficiency nor happiness. " The only cases of hopeless ruin ," said a keen observer, " are those in which the body has first been ruined through neglect or vice, or was congenitally perverted and made the victim propensities ... ; but whenever the body has escaped and remains in tolerably sound condition there are wrecks which may not be, to all seeming, completely

of criminal destruction few moral repaired in

this world ." The country sustains a tremendous economic loss through ill -health and bodily inefficiency that compel non -pro ductivity. Premature death and high mortality mean sorrow and unnecessary moral and material wastage .

human

Good health and physical vigor are national assets. The KALIBAPI is enthusiastically behind the entire program of health and physical education calculated to foster muscular development, emotional control, and physical endurance . Efforts put forth by men and institutions to advance the physical development of the people through physical exercise, wholesome sports, recreational and outdoor activities are to be commended . Filipinos need a regimen of hardening process . Calisthenic exercises are necessary for men and women , young

and old, especially those working in offices or leading sedentary lives. Folk dances develop rhythmic movement, grace , supple ness, and poise . Athletic sports for big muscle activities are es sential to race survival.

Group games are important for their

biological, emotional, social, ethical, and character values. Clean and wholesome recreation gives joy in living and prevents people 35

36 from becoming mere hewers of wood and drawers of water.

Bodily

health and physical vigor give us more zest to work, better buoyancy of spirit, and greater efficiency in the performance of our daily duties . It is well to have calisthenics, sports , and games and develop the cult for the body healthy, strong, and beautiful. If the individual in the office or the factory or the field is poor in muscular develop ment, his human mechanism operates at a low ebb of efficiency . All the activities of daily life call for more strength than he has readily available .

He burns more

energy both nervously and

muscularly than he can afford . Our age is a strenuous age. The demands of modern life are manifold, unceasing, and implacable. We have to raise our physical fitness so that we may go through the day's work at an accelerated pace and wind up the day without being unduly fatigued . We must build up physical reserve in order to be able to respond to additional call of duty especially in times of emergency . It must be borne in mind that work involving thinking, planning, research, and writing, for many of us, has to be done outside office hours — at times between the time we finish our evening meal and two or three o'clock in the morning and such work can be undertaken by persons who are not overly fatigued during the day and who can draw from their physical reserve. Members of the KALIBAPI in their respective communities should show active interest in the conservation and improvement of health and physical fitness.

The benefits acquired in school

from health and physical education should be carried over to life outside the school. Nations are vying with one another in promoting individual and national vitality . Nationalist leaders have become convinced of the potency of mass athletics, sports, and games to arouse group and national enthusiasm . Physical culture is no longer merely a matter of fun and enjoyment. It has become a patriotic duty to bring about individual and national betterment. The second World War has given great impetus to physical training. Tests for military service have shown that altogether too many young men are physically disabled or unfit. Many men and women were found too weak , unable to stand the rigors of life under emergency conditions. Many , even those in the prime of life, were found soft, without the necessary stamina or endurance . They became easily tired or succumbed easily to disease . It is truly an ill wind that blows nobody any good. The war which has reduced vehicles and other facilities of modern trans

37

portation has compelled more people to take to walking, hiking, cycling, and horse riding. These we should do even in normal times .

Part of good education hereafter should include ability to

walk , swim , ride a horse or bicycle, play or work in the sun or rain . The growing demands of the New Philippines and the in creasing complexity of civilization should serve to emphasize the importance of making the means of protecting, caring for, and improving the body a vital part of an integrated education for efficiency, self -direction , and happiness. The KALIBAPI, as an association for service to the people, has to help deepen faith in the necessity of systematic development of individual and public health in its preventive , ameliorative, and curative phases . Members should be active participants in, and promoters of, health and safety education, physical culture, and military training which are facets of a common problem . They should be helpers in movements and activities having to do with conserving and improving health, preventing diseases, discovering and correcting physical defects, promoting personal, family , and community well-being through the development of adequate stand ards, wholesome attitudes , and sound knowledge, and establishing and practicing correct health habits, making the environment hy gienic and sanitary, and creating collective responsibility. We should unite our forces and coördinate our activities and make every individual physically fit through proper knowledge, habits, and attitudes of work, play, and rest and build a truly strong, turdy , and progressive race .

CHAPTER IX THE KALIBAPI AND THE CO - PROSPERITY SPHERE ROM the inception of hostilities the Empire of Japan announced

F of Oriental countries and peoples from Western domination . The Imperial Rescript of December 8, 1941, made it clear that the pri mordial aims in declaring war were " to insure the stability of East Asia and to contribute to world peace .." and " to cultivate friendship among nations and to enjoy prosperity in common with all nations 0 The Commander - in - Chief of the Imperial Japanese Forces in the Philippines soon after the occupation of Manila gave repeated assurances that Japan wanted to establish "Asia for the Asiatics" and to realize " the ideal of the Philippines for the Filipinos. "

He

made this clear and categorical statement: “ We have no intention of conquering any Asiatic people, nor do we have any territorial desire on any Oriental

people .”

( The Official Journal of the

Japanese Military Administration , Vol. I, pp. 9–10 .) On January 21, 1942 , Premier General Hideki Tozyo addressing the Imperial Diet made known " Nippon's readiness to grant inde pendence to the Philippines and Burma, provided the peoples of those regions understand the real intentions of Nippon and offer to coöperate as partners in the establishment of the Greater East Asia Co -Prosperity Sphere." (Official Journal of the Japanese Military Administration , Vol. V , p . v ) .

His exact words relative

to our country were these: “ As regards the Philippines, if the people of those islands will hereafter understand the real inten tions of Nippon and offer to cooperate with us as one of the part ners for the establishment of the Greater East Asia Co -Prosperity Sphere, Nippon will gladly enable them to enjoy the honor of inde pendence." ( Ibid , p. vii.)

Before the educational institutions of learning in the land were permitted to reopen , the

Commander -in -Chief issued an order

concerning the basic principles of education to be observed . first principle was :

The

" To make the people understand the position of the Phil ippines as a member of the East Asia Co -Prosperity Sphere, 38

e

e

12

2,

39 the true meaning of the establishment of a New Order in the Sphere and the share which the Philippines should take for the realization of the New Order, and thus to promote friendly relations between Japan and the Philippines to the furthest extent." The KALIBAPI in its charter is enjoined " to assist the Filipino people in fully comprehending the significance of, and to strengthen their adherence to, the principles of the Greater East Asia Co Prosperity Sphere." It is important for us to explore the meaning of the Greater East Asia Co -Prosperity Sphere. Mr. Shingoro Takaishi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Osaka Mainichi wrote : " Nippon is convinced ... that it is her duty and right to set up a new sphere of freedom and prosperity in the Far East in which the Oriental peoples, hitherto pathetically relegated to subordinate positions by predatory powers of the West, can assert themselves and enjoy the fruits of their own efforts and industry and live without the humiliation of national and racial discrimination ." Mr. Tatsuo Kawai, formerly spokesman for the Japanese Foreign Office, said that the Sphere means " a federation of independent states for a common ideal — a combination calculated to promote individual development of the members of the Sphere as well as the harmony of the whole . " Mr. Kamekichi Takahasi, writing on “ Why Co -Prosperity ” in Contemporary Japan for October, 1942 , mentions the efforts to study all aspects of the economic , political, and cultural problems affecting the entire region of Greater East Asia and “ . . evolve a complex system to suit the conditions of each nation " but adding: " Nevertheless, unification remains the basic requirement for the smooth functioning of the co - prosperity sphere, because such an objective can never be realized if different peoples were allowed to act freely without any restraint.” ful paragraph :

He concludes with this meaning

" To Japan the co -prosperity sphere represents its lifeline. Its self - existence is dependent on effecting good neighbourly relations with the countries of Greater East Asia. That is why, in propagating the objective of co -prosperity , it does not entertain the ambition to become the ruling Power of the region ; instead, it desires to solemnize lasting partner ship with it, expecting that Greater East Asia, under a new mutual reliance and coöperative order, would flourish peace fully without any outside interference, contributing at the

40 same timeits rightful share to the new world order, designed to restore international tranquillity and stability on a durable footing.” Addressing provincial governors, city mayors, provincial and city treasurers in May, 1942 , Commissioner Recto of the Department of Education , Health , and Public Welfare said : " I had occasion once before to explain the meaning of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, not merely as I believe it to be but also as the leaders themselves of Japan have conceived and expounded it. It means, according to these leaders, a federation of independent states for a com mon ideal—a combination calculated to promote individual development of the members of the Sphere as well as the harmony of the whole . The idea of Co - Prosperity in East Asia carries no thought of domination , but envisages uni versal concord on the basis of freedom , equality , and mutual respect . Japan does not desire to prosper at the expense of the rest of the Asiatic countries, but seeks to find in the common prosperity of the whole of Asia her own happiness and well -being. Co -Prosperity in Greater East Asia does not connote exploitation or exclusiveness; and Japan , while occupying the place of leadership, does not intend to mono polize its advantages, since Co-Prosperity does not involve absorption or annexation, nor is it to rest upon a relation ship between conqueror and conquered .” More recently , Dr. Jose P. Laurel, President of the Preparatory Commission for Philippine Independence, in a published interview made this significant statement : “ Racially and geographically, the Philippines belongs to Asia. We should , therefore, live and prosper in association with other Oriental peoples , collaborate with them under the leadership of Japan as our benefactor, share the common difficulties and dangers, and enjoy the common blessings and hap piness of a compact and united Orient. " The meaning of the Greater East Asia Co - prosperity Sphere may be further clarified by its translation into the National Language: Sansaganaan Sa Lalong Malaking Silangang Asya . This conveys

the idea of mutuality .

In the language of the Ilocandia it is : Pag

raramanan a Namay ti Dacdackel nga Asia iti Deppaarnať Daya. Kyo Ei Ken in Japanese is equivalent to Pagraramanan a Namay in Ilocano. The phrase connotes mutuality, all - sharing. Namay is more expressive than the literal translation of prosperity which is rangay . Namay is both material and spiritual. The Co - Prosperity Sphere envisages an Oriental jurisdiction similar to a European area or an American bloc. It is in line with the social broadening of the Tayo concept. Tayo is preceded

41 by the ( 1) ako or I-idea, (2 ) the kita or we-two idea, and (3 ) the kami or we-exclusive idea . Tayo is the all inclusive we-idea . Co Prosperity Sphere, therefore, encompasses an orbit of co-existence and co - prosperity of the Tayo concept which carries with it the fundamental thoughts of fairness and justice in life - sharing, of independence and neighborship or interdependence. It becomes the imperative duty of Filipinos so to live and labor in order to merit the glory and honor of participating in the com on life of the Greater East Asia Co -Prosperity Sphere and so that the Philippines, free and independent, may occupy its rightful place in the family of nations.

CHAPTER X THE KALIBAPI AND INDEPENDENCE AND INTER DEPENDENCE E

:

live in a world engulfed in war the like of which is un

W known in history for its scope and intensity. Every country finds itself amid disturbance and confusion . The Philippines is no exception .

Like the mariner amidst storm who guides himself

by fixed marks of land or sky, the Filipinos must orient themselves by a recourse to first principles. Several fundamental principles could serve as guides. Two of the most important are the principle of independence and the principle of interdependence. In the past, the ideal of independence has been the great unify ing factor in Philippine life . It must, now and in the future, con tinue to be the polestar of our fondest dreams and aspirations, of our highest thoughts and actions. For their desire to live free and unmolested, our pioneering ancestors left their habitations, crossed the angry seas and braved the elements , and came to these shores . For their wish to have homes they could call their very own, they felled the forests, built houses and started settlements that later became towns and cities. For freedom's cause , our forefathers toiled hard and engaged in many an occupational pursuit. For the liberty and independence of the Philippines, a long line of heroes and martyrs labored and sacrificed in war and in peace. For 400 years and more, the Filipinos sought to win their na tional freedom from Spain and from the United States without success . It took a global conflict into which our country was plunged through none of its own choosing, to bring us to the realization of our supreme aspiration . The Empire of Japan , after its forces triumphed in the Philip pines, by a benevolence unparalleled, voluntarily and graciously made, on June 16 , 1943 , the proffer of independence to the Phil ippines in the course of the current year. We accept this mag nanimous offer with profound gratitude . We accept it in the spirit it is offered, and we glory in the event all the more because in dependence comes to us from an Oriental Power, a neighbor nation . 42

43

We glory in the honor and privilege of our country and people being independent. - As the Director -General of the Japanese Mili tary Administration assured us, that independence shall be com plete, and that while Japan shall play the role of guardian and protector for Greater East Asia, " the Philippines shall not be a protectorate." : Independence will shortly be ours at last !

How apt now are

these lines of prophetic Rizal : Day, 0 happy day Fair Filipinas, for thy land ! So bless the power to-day That places in thy way This favor and the fortune grand . For “ this favor and the fortune grand” the Filipino people, in a spirit of ecstatic joy and profound appreciation , give sincere thanks to Japan . For more reasons than one, we should gladly accept independ ence and face the future with courage. To make independence real, effective, and enduring, we should bend our best efforts, direct our energies, and use our talents in the spirit of dedication and consecration . Independence will dignify us because it elevates us from a status of dependency to a position of freedom . Independence enables us to define a center of gravity both geo graphically and culturally. - In freedom and independence we can best orient our mentality and our very life - individual, national, and international. Independence makes for a great change for the better. Philippines is no longer a colony .

The

These islands are no longer

mere insular possessions. The Philippines freed is a self-govern ing and self-directing nation in a family of nations of the Orient and of the world . Independence should accentuate our consciousness of obliga tions and responsibilities. Independence challenges us to exert our utmost and be at our best, giving impetus to the development of those virtues that are Oriental and basically Filipino and at the same time not inimical

to qualities which men of talent and of vision have ever recognized as essential to human character. We covet independence because only through the application of our own genius and talents to the solution of our country's problems shall we as a people attain our destiny and achieve complete self -realization .

44 Independence ushers us into a life of interdependence. Being a member of the family of nations broadens our outlook, chastens our attitude, and deepens and heightens our consciousness of hu man personality and of humanity . A life of cooperation among nations develops human understanding, friendship, and neighbor ship . In Europe there has long been an attempt to form a bloc. To effectuate such a bloc, the greatest war, in the war - ridden and war torn countries of Europe, is now being waged and it has all the earmarks of a war that will be fought to the bitter finish . In the Americas an administrative area has been formed and that has been welded into a unit in recent years, under the leadership of the richest and most powerful country of the two American con tinents. Under the leadership of Japan , a similar jurisdiction is being formed into the Greater East Asia Co -Prosperity Sphere. For reasons of geography and race, if for no other, the Philippines necessarily must belong to this Oriental orbit. And when world peace will come at last , as it must come , the Philippines, like any other country , great or small, rich or poor, cannot live in isolation. No nation can be alone and apart from other nations. It must coöperate, co-exist, and co - prosper with others. In such an orbit, the Filipino people must do their full part as befits a nation de serving of the honor of a free and independent existence . The Filipino people cannot afford to be short-sighted . They must become a people of vision. They should glory in the prospect of living and cooperating with other free peoples. They must feel, think , and act as men and women intelligent and with a breadth of view demanded by the new world order.

Our Tayo philosophy,

like the Hakko Itiu for the Japanese , must urge us to broaden our concept of the larger life. Basically, interdependence is the honest and sincere desire to have others equal to yourself. Interdependence among nations means the honest and sincere desire that every people shall have an equal privilege and opportunity to develop their own capacities aided by the good will, encouragement, and cooperation of their neighbors. There should arise in the hearts of the millions inhabiting the Philippines a higher sense of pride and a sense of mission. The East has long been known as the cradle of civilization . The Orient has been the source of the greatest cultures, the greatest religions, and the greatest philosophies. The Philippines has received the impacts of various cultural streams .

It now becomes her golden

45

opportunity to evolve a culture that is basically Filipino, enriched by the best that Oriental and Occidental civilizations can offer.

It

behooves citizens of this new nation continually to broaden their concept so that it shall become national, regional, international. Higher than thought of self is the family idea ; higher than the lo yalty to family , city , or province is loyalty to nation. This in turn must be further broadened to include regional and world loyalty. " Above all nations is humanity ." The KALIBAPI has a mission to advance our growth and pro gress, using as guides the twin principles of independence and interdependence. o

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