Why National Holiday Celebrations are a Major Turn-Off

I would need to post this on this blog because I am writing now not for myself, but for other people.

I call this the Mt. Samat Ordeal or generally, Why National Holiday Celebrations are a Major Turn-Off.

I initially wrote this as an appeal to the Presidential Security Group which, I would like to believe, is doing its best effort to safeguard the President. However, their "efforts" should be done in the most well-thought of and practical manner - not at the expense of the people, particularly the old ones (most especially, our veterans).

The arrangement of not allowing public transportation to go up Dambana ng Kagitingan is understandable. But with the "unexpected" number of guests for the 70th Araw ng Kagitingan, the strategy of having people ride official shuttle buses up the shrine turned out to be a repeat of the Death March.

This is the line at 10 AM. Some were here since 7AM.

Under the sweltering heat, our kababayans waited to ride the shuttle buses, which apparently were not enough for the number of guests. So, the buses made several trips back and forth, which also caused some clutch to overheat and brakes to lose.

We were "promised" that all of us will be brought up to the shrine. But as time goes by, there were MORE people coming. Since those that came early were "overtaken" by those who came later, lines were disheveled and soon, people were pushing just to get a ride.

People were pushing to ride a bus.

In all of these, the members of the PSG were not "facilitating" or "guiding" the people. It could have been avoided if they have made simple devices such as guidelines for queue or just people who would man the crowd. Yes, they were "fixing" it when panic suddenly built up. But when the people broke loose, they went away and hid under the shade of the tree.

I could not blame the people for their lack of discipline, although I would want to. We came in at 7AM and the crowd was still under control. But when it built up, I think the PSG was not ready for it.

My parents and I were not able to go up the shrine and listen to the President's speech. Despite the PSG's "promise," not all of us were able to go up. Although we came early, we were not able to ride the bus because my father wanted the veterans to go in first. He refused to take advantage of his kapwa, despite his big built, and instead, gave way to the elderly. That was a shining moment for my father. So, my mother and I decided to not just go instead.

If she was my lola, I would advise her to watch the program on TV instead.

As a first-time participant, I was really disappointed. Not because I was not able to go. But more than that, seeing other people suffer because we were not able to do our job well (I am a government employee myself) makes me feel disillusioned at the very holiday that celebrates and commemorates valor, integrity, and love for country.

No wonder nationally and historically significant celebrations are a major turn-off for our kababayans - it was not produced for them (only for the few elite). Unlike TV shows, wherein researches are done to understand the demography of its audience, in government programs, bahala ka sa buhay mo.

The unexpected number of crowd is no excuse. It is, after all, the 70th anniversary of Araw ng Kagitingan - a national holiday.

Happy Araw ng Kagitingan to us, still.

God bless the Philippines. Please.

How About the Unholy Weeks?

(This is a re-post from my last year's Holy Week reflections. Unfortunately, it's still applicable this year.)

Recently, there has been so much issue on how most Filipinos spend their Holy Week. That, instead of putting on a pious reflective attitude, most prefer to go to the beach and be in revelry.

Why is that? I believe Holy Week was institutionalized to make people stop from their very occupied and self-centered lives and to make them ponder on what God can do about it. And there's nothing wrong with that. Finally, the "Church" has created a way for people to notice God. As if the entire Christendom (which comprises of approximately two billion followers) suddenly stops and all that was shown and talked about was Jesus and His death. So, after 352 days, we eventually see Him again: "Oh, Jesus, there You are!"

Believe me, I am in no way against going into solitude and just simply talk to God and be in touch with yourself and the One who created you. But, as the book "Right Here, Right Now" says:

"The very process of setting aside a certain time as 'holy' automatically categorizes all other times as somehow 'less holy.' If the 'holy' belongs to God, then who owns the rest?"

They can go to the beach all they want and drink and be high for seven days during Holy Week. Or they can be inside a prayer cell or church and pray all week-long. There's really no difference - as long as they still treat the other weeks as unholy and forget Jesus all year-long.

Not the one to 'cast the first stone.'

How holy could it get?

Photos are from our visit to the Walkway: Reflections on the Stations of the Cross at Bonifacio High Street.