Why am I asking?

If there is one unexpected incident which turned out to be a very big blessing, that would be taking Panitikan ng Pilipinas 50: Panitikang Makabayan under Prof. Michael Francis Andrada. Maybe I was really destined to be in that class, after all.

 

Since I cancelled Humanidades 1, which was supposedly my GE subject that would satisfy my required six units in Philippine Studies, I needed to look for a substitute. Known subjects like Pan Pil 17 and Pan Pil 19 were already closed. But I badly needed to complete Philippine Studies. So, I looked for alternative classes and soon found that there is a GE subject called Pan Pil 50: Panitikang Makabayan. If it is offered in our school, then it must not be that bad. So I tried to enlist in that subject and luckily there was still an available slot in the class which perfectly fits my schedule.

 

At first, I thought we would just talk about epics, myths, legends and similar forms of literature in different regions in the Philippines. Those were the stuff I considered “makabayan.”  Soon I discovered that my notion of “makabayan” was far from what we would be studying. My definitions of the words “bayan” and “makabayan” were too shallow and fall short of their true and deeper meaning.

 

We first learned that the concept of “bayan” differs from person to person. Not everyone that calls himself/herself “makabayan” is really “makabayan.” Take President Gloria Arroyo for example. Must we believe when she declares that she is “makabayan”? We must know first who she refers to when she says the word “bayan.” Also, patriotism does not equate nationalism. Not everything that has Pinoy, Pilipino, Pilipinas, and the like is truly “makabayan.” For the whole semester, we studied songs, poems, essays, stories, and other literary pieces which most people considered “makabayan.” We identified which is which and which is not. Genuine nationalism, properly complemented by social awareness, seeks to promote the interest of the people— the Filipino people, the masses.

 

In less than a month, it became my favorite subject for the sem… and in my whole college life.

 

Well, Sir Andrada was my first tibak professor. Cool. Every meeting was always fun because of his hirit and patawa and jokes about my classmates and basically about everything. The topics we discussed were serious and even political but he presented them in an, uh, animated manner. (Sorry for the lack of appropriate word.) He also challenged us to analyze and think deeply about the things around us for they reflect social realities. We must NOT just look at the superficial. As I would quote him as he also quoted, “ Dapat mayroon tayo laging ‘series of questioning questions’.”

 

Yes. I love that. Series of questioning questions. I will never forget that, sir! I learned to be sensitive to and critical of the things that surround me. I learned not to easily accept what is presented to me but rather search further for its real meaning and implication.

 

Oh! And before I forget, Sir Andrada was also of very big help when we did our position paper for another subject. (Thank you, Sir!)

 

I wouldn’t be the socially aware and involved person I am now if it was not for this subject. It perfectly complemented my being NUAN.

 

Now, as I look back, I cannot imagine my college life without taking this course… and not learning to ask a series of questioning questions.

 

What do you think?

Advertisement