A Message of Hope to the Filipino Youth

by Bonifacio T. Cunanan

Esteemed panel of judges,/ respected teachers,/ my dear colleagues, /cherished friends,/ ladies, and
gentlemen,/ Good morning.
Barely two months ago, /our people/ and follow Filipinos in Diasporas/ in all the corners of the world
/rejoiced in one voice over the victory of our boxing icon from General Santos City./ Manny Pacquiao,
seized that shining moment/ when he humbled on his knees the equally formidable puncher from Mexico –El
Terrible,/ the invincible/ Eric Morales.
It could be a surprise to many/ how such a man from a lowly beginning/ could weld a nation torn apart/ by
imaginary walls and fences of indifference and heartlessness./
The answer to such a question is self-evident./
Personally, /I believe / that our people have had enough of mudslinging, /partisan politics, / and
vindictiveness. /This boxing icon/ has been instrumental in redeeming our smudged image in the scornful eyes of
the world.
We take pride/ in having been the inheritors of a glorious past. /We rejoice/ in claiming that in our veins/
runs the blood of our heroes./ We tell the world that our country/ is the only Christian nation in Asia,/ and that/ it
is the cradle of the premiere constitutional and democratic nation in Asia and Africa as well.
We chant the names of José Rizal,/ Andres Bonifacio, /Apolinario Mabini,/ Emilio Aguinaldo,/ Marcelo
H. del Pilar,/ and Benigno Aquino, Jr.
Friends,/ I believe/ that we are the inheritors of a glorious past./ But what have we done with it?/
Filipinos are anywhere in the world / because life has been continuously becoming more difficult/ day after
day/ in the land ransomed by the blood of heroes!/ And more painfully,/ this generation seems to be going
nowhere. . ./
Coup attempts,/ mutiny, /deception, /widespread cheating,/ wire-tapping,/ lies, and violations of our
basic,/ inalienable, God-given rights./ These are some of the endless speculations that drill our restless thoughts.
/Our spirits are dampened, /our future bleaks,/ and our nation is ailing. . ./
Yes,/ Manny Pacquiao made us unite for a moment,/ a day,/ a week,/ or a month at most. /Such
unification is momentary, however./ But to confront the ills of the land,/ we need to search for long lasting
antidotes. /With this as our predicament,/ I challenge you, fellow young people to look deep within ourselves.
Often,/ we fail to acknowledge our hypocrisies!/ We abhor and condemn the things that we ourselves
perpetuate./ Often,/ we do not offer ourselves to be part of the solution,/ but we add up to the burdens even more!/
My countrymen,/ I would like to believe/ that grinding poverty,/ widespread unemployment, /political
vendetta,/ and the vicious cycle of graft and corruption are simply the symptoms of a much deep seated moral
problem./ And what is that problem?/
The real problem of this generation and of this country/ is our refusal to see our oppression!/ Call it
acquiescence!/ It is the resignation to our impending doom!/ With this social malady,/ we tacitly adjust ourselves
to oppression/ and thereby/ we become conditioned to it!
Allow me to tell you this,/ let every man and woman/ be an example to others. /To achieve this goal,/ let
one first, and above anything else,/ be his own stakeholder.
My dear fellow students,/ we are destined to inherit this nation./ We are ordained to transform this
generation/ into the ideals of our heroes!/ But how shall we do it without transforming ourselves?/
Our country cries for a genuine love and for reforms./ It has been wounded grievously/ by our callousness
and selfishness./ It is calling for redemption. /And the hour of redemption is now./
Could this call be untimely?/ Yes, /Youth has to be enjoyed./ Youth is the springtime of life,/ of joy,/ of
loving, / and being loved!/ It is the season of dreams./ It is the time to build our ideals./ I know / that this journey
/will take several miles, yet/ Youth has to be enjoyed!/
So, with this view,/ I would like to end this discourse/ in the words of Robert Frost:/

The woods are lovely,/ dark, and deep/

But I have miles to go before I sleep/
And miles to go before I sleep/
And miles to go before I sleep./

Thank you so much.