The Dawning of A New Conscience: They Taketh… Then They Giveth

An observation of human behavior – Past vs. Present

By: Zamboanga.com Editorial – May 1, 2006

The SOUTHCOM, Southern Command, of The Philippine Military, is one of the largest military bases (a fort – Fort SOUTHCOM) in the Philippines and a mandatory endeavor for many past and present Generals, along with their cohorts.  The feat of their celebratory accomplishment is a reflection of the many forsaken feet that were mourned in sublime consequence of Fort SOUTHCOM’s directive. 

It must not be forgotten that as Fort SOUTHCOM celebrates its 30^th year of existence, the rule that created it is the very same principle that eliminated the people’s Writ of Habeas Corpus – in military jargon: Martial Law!

It is clearly seen as intentional caution that Fort SOUTHCOM is playing their momentous occasion with subdued civic events aimed at helping the public, the Zamboangueños, rather than playing their accustomed soldiering.  Fort SOUTHCOM is embarking on a commendable blood-giving drive to help local blood banks and other miscellaneous medical efforts.

It is poignantly ironic that the noble action of the present-day soldiers, in giving their blood to the locals now, is the complete opposite of what the vampire goons of Marcos’ militia did to the people then in taking their innocent blood away from them.  Thousands died, murdered, and then others were never to be heard or seen from again.  This was the reign of terror that Dictator Marcos enforced upon the Filipinos, with his blood-thirsty militia leading the way.  There was no Al-Qaeda then, but Ferdinand Marcos was the historical Bin-Laden of the Philippines.  The Marcos government’s martial war of terror against their own people miniaturizes the scale and effect Marcos’ counterpart – Bin Laden – has on the Americans’ own experience in their current “war of terror,” a hundred times over.

They taketh blood, then… and they giveth blood, now.

Dictator Marcos’ martial law and its reign of terror will forever be the foundation that was laid in Fort SOUTHCOM.

How that evil foundation is clad in Fort SOUTHCOM’s future evolution is a hope Zamboangueños have in the ongoing presence of American soldiers in their beloved city.  The Americans are returning after decades of absence, bringing along with them their own colorful history of destruction and construction in Zamboanga after their purchase of the Philippines from the Spaniards, and after World War II Japan’s invasion of the Philippines, providing critical military guidance and an historical awareness of civic-mindedness to their counterparts from Fort SOUTHCOM.

Fort SOUTHCOM’s history is reminiscent of what the Americans did to the Filipinos after they purchased the islands from the Spaniards in 1898 for a mere $20,000,000.00.  Thousands, hundreds of thousands, of Filipinos were killed by American soldiers before the extent of their annihilation was reported back to the mainland wherein horrified American citizens, government officials, and the national press took action to stop the bloody military rampage.

After it was all said and done by 1911, there were over 200,000 Filipinos murdered (government cost: under $100.00 each person) and General Smith was very pleased.  The American public, however, was not and they eliminated the bloody General Smith and installed a number of reformist Generals/Governors who initiated a nation-building program that became the United States’ first such human-scale program in its history and predicated all future nation-building programs it has ever endeavored to tackle.  The Philippine Commonwealth that arose, and the country it became, is to this day one of the United States’ most loyal democratic allies in critical Asia and the world.

Time does heal wounds, accordingly.

The Americans are back in Zamboanga and their representatives, the ones whom the locals endearingly call “Joe,” as in G.I. Joe of WWII vintage who liberated them from Japanese occupation, are embarking on another nation-building program for a nation that has long been neglected and abused, but stubbornly refuses to be defeated – the “nation” called Mindanao.  American General/Governor John “Blackjack” Pershing is credited for laying down the groundwork for developing Mindanao and Sulu from his headquarters in Zamboanga, the Capital of the old Moro Province he created.

General Pershing won the hearts and loyalty of the Zamboangueños, and his legacy is still strongly evident today in the language the Chavacanos of Zamboanga are very well-versed in, more expertly than any city of its size in the country - English.  It is a symbol of the American General’s Normal School program which emphasized education as part of the emancipation process for the local citizenry.  Numerous American teachers came to educate, and countless more local teachers were sent to the U.S. to learn how to become teachers, then returned to continue their work in the city’s public Normal Schools.  The “Normal School” name is long gone but its institutions of learning strongly prevail.  Although a few of General Pershing’s physical civic projects are still around and touted as tourist destinations, his lasting legacy is quickly experienced as the first welcome sign any foreign, international or national, visitor hears from any Zamboangueño, regardless of their educational level, in their command of the English language – the American English!

Chavacano is still the lingua-franca of Zamboanga City, but English is the language of education and business.  The Chavacano language is a living relic of the city’s over 300 years of Spanish influence, enamored by the Zamboangueños because it is their founding identity.  It harkens an enlightened romantic past that has guided its peaceful but independent people.  Zamboanga can be considered the Babylon of the Philippines with its myriad of exotic languages that proliferate in business and people’s homes.  It is a melting pot of civilization and religion, and is considered the most exotic place in the Philippines.  It’s like stepping into a time warp.

Thirty years is a long time to be established anywhere.  If that anywhere happens to be in Zamboanga City, “The City of Flowers,” it lends an extra special significance to this ancient place that measures its own sense of time by centuries – over three.

Fort Pilar has been around for a mere 371 years and Fort SOUTHCOM for an historical 30 years.  They were both founded on military conquest, yet the people whom they intended to conquer have never been conquered.  Fort Pilar evolved to become the pillar of strength and conscience of the Zamboangueños and their fellow brethren beyond.  There’s hope that Fort SOUTHCOM will eventually be led in that same evolutionary path.

We want to thank the American Soldiers again, for coming back to visit your old friends and brothers, the Zamboangueños, and for teaching and helping the residents of a foreign fort that was erected to strike at the heart of the Southern “resistance” of the Philippines, almost mimicking the similar exploits of a local institution – Fort Pilar – except theirs is called: Fort SOUTHCOM.  Their convergence will signify the tenacity of the industrious peace-loving people of an ancient place borne on a bed of flowers, affectionately called: Zamboanga.  Together, our concerted effort as equals can help unify neighbors and a people.

You don’t win by taking blood from the people.  You win by giving blood back to the people you wronged, and your conscience along with it.  It is painful to remember the past, but it is inspiring to see movement towards a better future for everyone.  Peace be with us all.