ANG
MAMATAY NG DAHIL SA IYO
by
Antonio C. Antonio
May
18, 2014
The
last stanza of the Philippine National Anthem, “Lupang Hinirang” (Chosen Land),
reads:
Lupa ng araw, ng luwalhati't pagsinta, (Beautiful land of love, oh land of
light,)
Buhay ay langit sa piling mo; (In thine embrace 'tis rapture to lie;)
Aming ligaya, na pag may mang-aapi (But it is glory ever when thou art wronged)
Ang mamatay ng dahil sa iyo. (For us thy sons to suffer and die.)
Buhay ay langit sa piling mo; (In thine embrace 'tis rapture to lie;)
Aming ligaya, na pag may mang-aapi (But it is glory ever when thou art wronged)
Ang mamatay ng dahil sa iyo. (For us thy sons to suffer and die.)
I
could almost hear our nine brave Philippine Marines sing these last lines of
Lupang Hinirang with nationalistic fervor while raising our colors on board the
BRP Sierra Madre. The BRP Sierra Madre,
stripped of all weaponry and rusting away, is presently marooned at Ayungin
Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) in the West Philippine Sea. These nine Marines, armed only with rifles,
are our first line of defense in case of any foreign invasion along the western
seaboard of the Philippine archipelago.
It is a foregone conclusion that these nine Marines can easily be
overpowered by a modern foreign navy.
US Army General George
S. Patton once said: “No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb
bastard die for his country.” If this
statement should be taken seriously, it simply means that there is no way we
could repel an invasion with this defensive set up. Perhaps, given our antiquated armament, it
also means we are bound to lose a war. But
General Patton was perhaps not too familiar with Philippine history. He probably never heard of Lapu-Lapu, Andres
Bonifacio and a long line of patriots who fiercely fought for our freedom. These national heroes fought the Spanish and
American guns using very inferior weapons… kris and bolos. And General Patton never saw the brand of
collective bravery in the EDSA Revolution where Filipinos were willing to use
their mortal bodies as barricades to stop military tanks. It takes awhile but the Filipino spirit
always triumphed.
Yes, our nine brave
Marines and the BRP Sierra Madre could easily be blown out of Ayungin Shoal
with a well-placed missile but this will only kill Filipino soldiers but not
the Filipino spirit. The Filipino’s
willingness to sacrifice and die for his country is a time-proven fact…
enshrined in our National Anthem no less.
And he has managed to eventually become victorious even when the odds
were against him. Spain, the United
States and Japan tried to test what the Filipino fighting spirit is all about
and all of them learned bitter lessons.
So… who’s next?
Just my little
thoughts…
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