Katiwala and Quezon's Message to the People of the Philippines

"I would rather have a country run like hell by Filipinos than a country run like heaven by the Americans, because however a bad Filipino government might be, we can always change it."

- Manuel L. Quezon

The speech, Message to the People of the Philippines,  was recorded in the 1920s, when he was first diagnosed with tuberculosis and assumed he didn't have much longer to live."   This speech  might be a good reminder to our current leaders in the administration and the opposition. It is the centerpiece of the Cinemalaya 2012  indie film Ang Katiwala starring Dennis Trillo 

Here is the synopsis of the film: Ruben (Dennis Trillo) loses his job as a carpenter in a small town in Quezon where he lives with his wife Edna (Althea Vega) and their 10-year old son, Budoy (Miggs Cuaderno). Desperate to make ends meet, he accepts a job as a caretaker of an abandoned property inQuezon City. Ruben soon finds out that the previous owner of the house is an important figure in the country’s history. When he is interviewed by a TV reporter about this historical figure, Ruben feels embarrassed that he knows nothing about him.Ruben soon starts reading up to get to know more about the life of this person, his accomplishments and what he has done for the people. Ruben’s fascination about the person’s life and his inevitable hero-worship irks the only friend he has in the sprawling compound, the night-shift security guard, Gimo (Ronnie Lazaro), who jokes that Ruben is slowly being possessed by the soul of his new hero. 

During his tenure, President Quezon led the Philippines on its first steps towards full independence; painstakingly established a government-in-exile in the United States during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines and lifted up the morale of the Filipino People in the midst of war through his frequent radio broadcasts. Quezon died of tuberculosis in Saranac Lake, New York on August 1, 1944; Vice-President Sergio S. Osmeña succeeded him as the Third President of the Philippines (Second President of the Philippine Commonwealth. Two years later, his dream was realized at last; the Republic of the Philippines was finally inaugurated as a sovereign, independent nation on the 4th of July, 1946, with Manuel L. Roxas as the newly-elected President of the Philippines. The text that appears below is from "Nationalism" by MLQ3 (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 19 August 2004). The translation that follows is from another blogger. Message to My People Manuel L. Quezon

My fellow citizens: there is one thought I want you always to bear in mind. And that is: that you are Filipinos. That the Philippines are your country, and the only country God has given you. That you must keep it for yourselves, for your children, and for your children's children, until the world is no more. You must live for it, and die for it, if necessary.

Your country is a great country. It has a great past, and a great future. The Philippines of yesterday are consecrated by the sacrifices of lives and treasure of your patriots, martyrs, and soldiers. The Philippines of today are honored by the wholehearted devotion to its cause of unselfish and courageous statesmen. The Philippines of tomorrow will be the country of plenty, of happiness, and of freedom. A Philippines with her head raised in the midst of the West Pacific, mistress of her own destiny, holding in her hand the torch of freedom and democracy. A republic of virtuous and righteous men and women all working together for a better world than the one we have at present.

Mensahe sa Aking Mga Kababayan Manuel L. Quezon

Mga kababayan ko: may isang kaisipang nais kong lagi niyong tatandaan. At ito ay: kayo ay Pilipino. Na ang Pilipinas ay inyong bayan, at ang tanging bayan na ibinigay ng Diyos sa inyo. Na dapat niyo itong ingatan para sa inyong mga sarili, sa inyong mga anak, at sa mga anak ng inyong anak, hanggang sa katapusan ng mundo. Kailangan niyong mabuhay para sa bayan, at kung kinakailangan, mamatay para sa bayan. Dakila ang inyong bayan. Mayroon itong dakilang nakaraan, at dakilang kinabukasan. Ang Pilipinas ng kahapon ay naging dakila dahil sa pag-aalay ng buhay at yaman ng inyong mga bayani, martir, at sundalo. Ang Pilipinas ng ngayon ay pinararangalan ng taos-pusong pagmamahal ng mga pinunong di-makasarili at may lakas ng loob. Ang Pilipinas ng bukas ay magiging bayan ng kasaganaan, ng kaligayahan, at ng kalayaan. Isang Pilipinas na nakataas ang noo sa Kanlurang Pasipiko, tangan ang sariling kapalaran, hawak sa kanyang kamay ang ilaw ng kalayaan at demokrasya. Isang republika ng mga mamamayang marangal at may paninindigan na sabay-sabay nagsisikap mapabuti ang daigdig natin ngayon.