1

Apocalypse in the 21st century: Rizal’s Prophetic Vision From

Junto al Pasig to Hymno a Talisay

By Floro Quibuyen*

Abstract:

If the nationalist ilustrados of the late19th century basked in the Age of Enlightenment, we

now wallow in the Age of Stupid (from the film with the same title). Would Rizal, the reputed

Child of the Enlightenment, have anything relevant to say regarding our Age of Stupid?

That‟s the question I‟d like to pose today, as we commemorate his sesquicentennial. Rizal‟s

Filipinas dentro de cien años (1890) says practically nothing about the global crises we face

today—ecological, economic, resource depletion—which could lead to the collapse of the

capitalist world system by 2050. To confront our predicament in the Age of Stupid we would

need an apocalyptic vision, which seems to have been suppressed in Cien años. That vision

drives a play in verse that Rizal had written ten years before Cien años—Junto al Pasig. The

Junto al Pasig poses the problem but answers it only cryptically—an answer that the Noli-

Fili (I take this to be one novel in two parts) fails to disclose. Rizal‟s exile in Dapitan was a

blessing in disguise. It was in Dapitan that Rizal finally realized and put into practice the

solution to the problem posed in Junto al Pasig. The answer is heralded by Himno a Talisay.

This paper critically traces Rizal‟s intellectual-spiritual journey from Junto al Pasig (1880) to

Himno a Talisay (1895), and concludes by relating Rizal‟s Talisay solution to the post-

caplitalist solutions being envisioned today by progressive writers/futurists who foresee the

collapse of industrial civilization and the end of the capitalist world system by 2050.

* Dedicated to my daughter Ligaya Quibuyen

2

If the nationalist ilustrados of the late19th century basked in the Age of Enlightenment, we

now wallow in the Age of Stupid.

In the recent film entitled The Age of Stupid, an old man (played by Postlethewaite) living in

the devastated world of 2055 and watching „archival‟ footage from 2008 wonders, “why

didn‟t we stop climate change whilst we still had the chance?”1 Recent studies indicate that

this is no longer fiction. The convergent global crises of global warming, peak oil and the

economic crunch, combined with exponential population growth will be acutely felt by 2015,

as the world moves inexorably to ecological and economic collapse by 2050. If, by then,

there is a lone survivor with access to undamaged computer and electric generator, he will

most likely be watching digital footages of 2011, and crying out loud, How could we have

been so stupid?

Would Rizal, the reputed Child of the Enlightenment, have anything relevant to say regarding

our Age of Stupid? That‟s the question I‟d like to explore in this paper. pose today.

FILIPINAS DE CIEN AÑOS

We begin with a review of a familiar essay—Rizal‟s Filipinas dentro de cien años—the first

modern futuristic essay ever written by a Filipino, if not by a Southeast Asian. Having

deconstructed the colonial history of Las Filipinas, Rizal weighs the country‟s historical

possibilities—given the prevailing geopolitics of his time—and then comes out with his

scenario for the Philippines‟ future:2

1. The Filipinos will rise up against Spain.

2. The Filipinos will win the Revolution against Spain.

3. The rising imperial power, the USA, will invade the country

4. The Filipinos will resist American imperialism.

As Rizal puts it, Muy probablemente las Filipinas defenderán con un ardor

indecible la libertad comprada a costa de tanta sangre y sacrificios. (Very

probably the Philippines will defend with indescribable ardor the liberty she has

bought at the cost of so much blood and sacrifice).

5. Filipinos will succeed in repelling the American invaders

6. Filipinos will constitute themselves into an independent Federal Republic

7. The Filipino nation will become prosperous and progressive.

Envisioning the future, Rizal waxes poetic: “With the new men [los hombres

nuevos] that will spring from her bosom and the remembrance of the past, she

will perhaps enter openly the wide road of progress and all will work jointly to

strengthen the mother country at home as well as abroad with the same

enthusiasm with which a young man returns to cultivate his father's farmland so

1 See http://www.sbs.com.au/films/movie/4847/The-Age-of-Stupid

2 My good friend George Aseniero has recently written a brilliant essay, “Rizal on US

Imperialism,” on how Rizal analysed turn-of-the-century geopolitics and became convinced

that the US will invade Las Filipinas. His paper, to be presented at the Rizal@150 conference

at the Ateneo this July, is based on Rizal‟s heretofore undiscussed and seemingly forgotten

borrador (draft/note) probably written, notes Aseniero, after the publication of his Filipinas

dentro de cien años.

3

long devastated and abandoned due to the negligence of those who had alienated

it.

And free once more, like the bird that leaves his cage, like the flower that returns

to the open air, they will discover their good old qualities which they are losing

little by little and again become lovers of peace, gay, lively, smiling, hospitable,

and fearless.

Looking back, we can now declare that Rizal was right on the first four but wrong on the last

three. Rizal, of course, was fully aware that nothing is absolutely certain about the future;

what we consider probable may not come to pass. Mindful that history can play tricks on us

(Hegel‟s cunning of history), Rizal, at the end of Cien años, cautions his reader:

Sin embargo, no es bueno fijarse en lo eventual; hay una lógica imperceptible e

incomprensible a veces en las obras de la Historia. Bueno es que tanto los pueblos

como los gobiernos se ajusten a ella.3

Nevertheless it is not good to stick to the probable. There is a logic at times

imperceptible and incomprehensible in the workings of History. It is well that both

peoples and governments adjust themselves to it. (George Aseniero translation)

Our loss to America was by no means inevitable. As Nick Joaquin lamented, we could have

won, and I agree with him.4 But that‟s another story.

5 After defeating the Revolution, the

American imperialists appropriated Rizal for their own purposes—an insidious imperial

propaganda that has blinded generations of postcolonial Filipinos, including Renato

Constantino and many teachers of the compulsory Rizal course, to the radical Rizal, the

Tagalog Christ who struck a chord in the popular imagination, the willing martyr who was

3 Cited in George Aseniero, “Rizal on US Imperialism” (unpublished manuscript)

4 I discuss this issue in Ch.9 “The Revolution that Never Was” in A Nation Aborted, revised

second edition (Ateneo de Manila University press, 2008) 5 Considering how things might have been had we won against the US is not merely wishful

thinking—the counterfactual in history, as Niall Ferguson has demonstrated, can shed light

on some critical issues. As explained in Wikipedia

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterfactual_history): the counterfactual “seeks to explore

history and historical incidents by means of extrapolating a timeline in which certain key

historical events did not happen or could have had an outcome which was different from that

which did in fact occur. The purpose of this exercise is to ascertain the relative importance of

the event, incident or person the counterfactual hypothesis is negating. For instance, to the

counterfactual, "What would have happened had Hitler died in the July 1944, assassination

attempt?", all sorts of possibilities become readily apparent, starting with the reasonable

assumption that the German generals would have in all likelihood sued for peace, bringing an

early end to World War II, at least in the European Theater. Thus, the counterfactual brings

into sharp relief the question of how important Hitler was as an individual and how his

personal fate shaped the course of the war and, ultimately, of world history.” See Niall

Ferguson (ed.): Virtual History: Alternatives and Counterfactuals (New York: Basic Books,

1999)

4

idolized by Mabini and Bonifacio, by both the nationalist illustrados and the revolutionary

masses.6

Regarding the global crises we face today—ecological, economic, resource depletion—

looming catastrophes that could lead to the collapse of the capitalist world system by 2050 7

—Cien años says practically nothing. The Cien anos was celebratory, almost triumphalist in

its projections. It did not foresee the ecological crisis of the 21st century. It is irrelevant to the

Age of Stupid.

JUNTO AL PASIG: THE PROBLEM

To confront our predicament in the Age of Stupid we would need an apocalyptic-

escathological vision, which seems to have been suppressed in Cien años.8 That vision drives

a play in verse that Rizal had written ten years before Cien años—Junto al Pasig. Beyond

what the Cien años reports as the loss of cultural identity and the impoverishment of a

conquered people, and beyond what it heralds as the roseate future of a nation emerging from

colonial rule, Junto al Pasig foretells of catastrophes, ecological devastation, famines and

plagues and cruel invasions and wars—colossal destruction inflicted by both violent nature

and hateful men (los hombres odiosos) on future generations. It‟s as if the 19-year old poet

was standing on the shoulders of the 29-year old man of science—as if Junto al Pasig was

written for our time.

“Rizal was a bard rather than a poet; his voice was the voice of a people rather than of a

littèrateur; and the old bardic strain of prophecy ran in him,” observes Nick Joaquin, “It is the

prophetic bard who speaks in Junto al Pasig” (Joaquin 1976, 9). Joaquin adds, “Rizal was

most productive poetically from the age of 13 to 19”, and the masterpiece of this period is

Junto al Pasig, “the zarzuela in which he perfected his early lyric style and in which his vatic

manner is most pronounced.” (11-12)

6 See chapter 1 “Toward a Radical Rizal” and ch 2 “Rizal and the Revolution” in A Nation

Aborted (2008) 7 See Immanuel Wallerstein, The Decline of American Power (The New Press, 2003), 324

pp., and Minqi Li, The Rise of China and the Demise of the Capitalist World System

(Monthly Review Press, 2008) 8 Apocalypse is usually thought of as referring to the final Armageddon, the end of the world.

But this is only a partial meaning. Apocalypse consists of two aspects. I cite the wikepedia

for a quick summary: The term calypsos (Greek καλυπτω ---kalupto or kalypto) means to

cover, to veil, to hide, or to conceal. Thus, apocalypse (Greek: ἀποκάλυψις apokálypsis)

means "lifting of the veil—a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in

an era dominated by falsehood and deception—the very meaning of the Biblical concept of

“revelation” (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse). This act of disclosure, of lifting

the veil of falsehood and deception, is precisely Rizal‟s point in writing the Noli me tangere.

The other meaning of apocalypse—the Armageddon and the end of the world—is

incomplete without the idea of eschatology, which refers to the passage from one reality or

state of affairs to another until the final end is reached. History is viewed eschatologically as

being divided into ages—an age may come to an end and be replaced by another age and a

new reality (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eschatology).

5

Let us then read Junto al Pasig.9 Here‟s the overview: The story opens on the banks of the

Pasig river—buddies Candido, Pascual and other children are excitedly awaiting the fluvial

procession of the Virgin of Antipolo, Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje. But their

leader, Leonido, is delayed. On his way to join his mates, Leonido is intercepted by Satan,

who appears as a Diwata (native deity). Satan introduces himself to Leonido as the god the

natives had worshipped before the Spaniards arrived. He spites them for now worshipping the

god brought by the Spaniards. He forbids Leonido from watching the Virgin‟s fluvial

procession and demands his allegiance. Leonido defies him. Rebuffed, Satan commands his

devils to kill Leonido. At that moment, the angel arrives to drive away Satan and his minions.

Leonido is saved, and as he and his mates gather at the bank of the Pasig, the fluvial

procession passes by. Leonido and his mates are filled with joy upon seeing the Virgin

shining brightly. The play ends with a chorus of homage to the Virgin of Antipolo.

This play has been read in either of two ways: either pro-Spanish or anti-Spanish. I‟d like to

present a third way that I think is more contemporary, or more apocalyptic, if you will.

Let us look closer. Early in the encounter between Satan and Leonido, Satan reminds Leonido

of the time before the Spaniards arrived (Nick Joaquin translation)—

At my voice, most potent, creative,

Out of the waters arose

These islands lit by the dawn—

Such beautiful islands before!

While, true to my holy cult,

The folk here lifted their prayers

At my altars, a thousand times

Did I rescue them from death,

From hunger and from fear,

Á mi voz prepotente, creadora,

De las aguas surgieron

Aquestas Islas, que alumbró la aurora,

Islas que bellas en un tiempo fueron;

Y mientras, fieles á mi culto santo,

Elevaron sus preces

En mis altares, les libré mil veces

De la muerte, del hambre y del espanto.

Fields brimmed with a fragrant verdure;

Without labor, the kindly earth,

Then still unsullied, brought forth

Harvests of yellow grain,

Speckled goats, fleet deer, fat cattle

Wandered about on the plains,

Los campos rebosaban

De fragante verdura;

Sin trabajo brotaban

De la piadosa tierra,

Entonces pura,

Las amarillas mieses;

Vagaban por el prado

El cabrito pintado,

El ciervo alígero y las gordas reses;

9 Wenceslao Retana relates that the closing chorus of Junto al Pasig was sung by Ateneo

students in 1904 right on the bank of San Pedro Makati, on the occasion of the Virgin‟s

fluvial procession on the Pasig.9 Wonder why no one has thought of doing it again on the

banks of the Pasig for Rizal‟s 150th

? Could the mire and stench of today‟s Pasig river have

discouraged such theatrical project?9 It‟s a pity because it would have been quite a creative

challenge to dramatize and visualize in multimedia the disasters foretold.

6

The diligent bee manufactured

Its honeycomb and offered

To man its luscious honey.10

Safe in its nest, the crow

Predicted no dire calamity.

La diligente abeja

Su panal fabricaba mansamente,

Y al hombre regalaba miel sabrosa:

Retirada en su nido la corneja,

No auguraba doliente

Calamidad odiosa;

This rich land then enjoyed

Such a time of happiness that

In bliss it equalled heaven!

Gozaba entonces este rico suelo

De una edad tan dichosa,

Que en sus delicias se igualaba al cielo.

This is vintage Morga! The abundant land on which lived the free and happy natives before

the arrival of the Spaniards is the first thesis of Rizal‟s copious annotations to Morga‟s

Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (1609; 1890). The Morga was the product of Rizal‟s laborious

historical spadework at the British Museum in London (the same library where Marx did his

research two decades earlier). In 1880, when Rizal wrote Junto al Pasig, he had not yet read

Morga and the other Spanish chroniclers upon which Rizal based his Morga thesis.11

Where

did the 19-year old UST undergrad get the idea of a pre-colonial paradise? Surely, not from

the Jesuits, much less the Dominicans.12

Then, the Spaniards arrived, and Paradise was lost:

Now, hapless, it groans beneath

The power of an alien race

And slowly, slowly dies

In the impious hands of Spain!

Y ahora, sin consuelo,

Triste gime en poder de gente extraña,

Y lentamenta muere

¡En las impías manos de la España!

This is the second thesis of Rizal‟s Morga—paradise lost.. Again, where did Rizal get the

idea of paradise lost/Fall as a period in Philippine history? From Burgos perhaps? But Burgos

has always professed his loyalty and gratitude to Spain. In his address to the Filipinos,

entitled Manifiesto a la noble nacion Espanola, Burgos wrote: “It is to our interest to

maintain Spanish rule, sheltering ourselves under its great shadow, a source of protection and

10

Rizal‟s reference to “the diligent bee” (la diligente abeja) in the time of paradise was most

prescient in view of today‟s global bee colony collapse disorder (CCD). See the United States

Department of Agriculture‟s Colony Collapse Disorder Progress Report (June 2010),

available at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/br/ccd/ccdprogressreport2010.pdf 11

For a fuller discussion of Rizal‟s annotations to Morga‟s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, see

Chapter 5, “The Morga and Reclaiming History” in A Nation Aborted, revised 2nd

edition

2008. 12

The idea of a “perdido Eden” is embedded in 19th century Tagalog vernacular culture

which Rizal imbibed in his idyllic childhood through the storytelling of his relatives, most

especially that of his mother, as well as local theatrical performances. In his polemics with

Barrantes, he writes nostalgically, “the first songs, the first farces, the first drama that I saw in

my childhood and which lasted three nights [i.e., the reenactment of the Pasyon] had left an

indelible remembrance in my mind.” These stories (e.g., Bernardo Carpio, Mariang

Makiling, the Pasyon) would eventually shape and inform his literary writings. See A Nation

Aborted, revised 2nd

edition 2008, 6-7; 195-200.

7

of the highest culture.” 13

The only 19th

century work that had predated Junto al Pasig‟s

theme of Paradise lost is the poem, Sa Aking Mga Kabata, supposedly written by the 8-year

old Rizal, but whose provenance is now doubted.14

As we have pointed out, the wonder of Junto al Pasig is that it antedates the first two theses

of the Cien años—the pre-colonial (Paradise) and colonial (Paradise lost) phases of

Philippine history. The bigger wonder is that the third thesis of Junto diverges from the third

triumphalist post-colonial (Paradise regained) thesis of Cien años—instead of Paradise

regained or Redemption, Junto‟s third phase is Apocalypse. Let‟s continue—

Satan pronounces that he can liberate the Philippines from Spain and give to Leonido all that

he wished if he submits to him. Leonido defies Satan, mocking him with the fact that he was

defeated by the Christians and that the Virgin Mary has wiped out all traces of his cult.

Rebuffed by Leonido‟s impudence, Satan utters a curse:

Ah, in the future shall come

The evils I keep for your race

That acclaims an impious cult:

Dismal calamities,

Plagues, wars, and cruel invasions

At the hands of various nations

In the not too distant future!

With blood and tears shall your people

Water the thirsty sands

Of your native land; in the pleasant

Meadow shall sing no more

The bird wounded with burning metal,

Not even your ancient forests,

Nor your rivers or valleys or springs

Shall be spared by the hateful men

Who shall ruin your peace and welfare;

¡Ay! ... Vendrán en lo futuro

Los males que reservo

A tu raza, que aclama un cúlto impuro:

¡Tristes calamidades,

Pestes, guerras y crueles invasiones

De diversas naciones

En venideras próximas edades!

Tu pueblo regará con sangre y llanto

Del patrio campo la sedienta arena;

Ya en la pradera amena

El ave á quien hirió metal ardiente.

Ni tus bosques añosos,

Ni los ríos, ni el valle, ni la fuente

Serán ya respetados

De los hombres odiosos

Que turbaron la paz y tu bonanza;

13

For a discussion on the ideological differences between Burgos and Rizal, see “How are

historical texts to be read? My final rejounder to John N. Schumacher, S.J” in Kritika Kultura

no.5, Dec 2004 (available at http://150.ateneo.edu/kritikakultura/images/pdf/kk5/kolum.pdf),

and “Rizal and Filipino Nationalism: Critical Issues” in Philippine Studies 50, no. 2, 2002 14

. The argument put forward by critics who claim that Sa Aking Mga Kabata could not have

been written by Rizal hinges on the word “kalayaan” in the poem, a term that was not current

at the time the poem was supposedly written (see A Nation Aborted, revised 2nd

edition 2008,

119-120). This argument, however, overlooks a crucial fact: the poem had been copied by

hand several times—and had been translated to Spanish and retranslated back to Tagalog (see

Nick Joaquin, The Complete Poems and Plays of Rizal 1976, 265). Along the way, the term

“kalayaan” might have been used/inserted by later copiers or re-translators. The only way to

settle this is to get hold of the original copy—sadly, this is no longer possible. The only thing

we have, by way of authentication, is the testimony of Rizal‟s descendants—in particular

Asuncion Lopez Bantug, Rizal‟s great grandniece, who confirms that Rizal did write Sa

Aking Mga Kabata (see Lolo Jose. An Intimate and Illustrated Portrait of Rizal, 2nd

edition,

Vibal Foundation and Intramuros Administration 2008, 19)

8

While I in my vengeful rage

Shall unloose the savage winds

So in their furious course

They may vex the various elements

Until the fragile canoe

Sinking in the water

Finds its grim woes augmented!

I shall despoil in my fury

The green fields of their best grain

And from the proud mountain‟s lofty

Summit shall I hurl down

A river of boiling lava

That, wrapped in smoke and devouring

Flame, shall raze whole towns

Like a raging torrent that, rising,

Uproots the trees by the hundreds!

And the earth, terrified by my voice,

Shall shudder with awful spasms

And every quake shall ravage

The rich land, and all life upon it,

Aie! Aie! What desolation !

What futile groaning ! What wailing

Shall I then hear, without feeling

In my breast the grief of the people!

I shall look at them with insolent

Mirth and mortal spite,

Laughing while I smite!

Mientras yo, por venganza,

Desataré los indomables vientos

Para que en su carrera,

Con ira y rabia fiera,

Alboroten los varios elementos,

Y la débil piragua,

Hundiéndose en el agua,

Aumente sus horribles sufrimientos.

Devastaré en mi saña

Los verdes campos de la míes ópima,

Y desde la alta cima

De la erguida montaña

Arrojaré de lavas río ardiente,

Que envuelto en humo y devorante llama

Asole poblaciones

Cual furioso torrente

Que, cuando se desparrama,

Arranca los arbustos á montones;

Y la tierra aterida,

A mi voz conmovida

Temblará con atroz sacudimiento,

Y á cada movimiento

El rico suelo amargará, y la vida.

¡Ay! ¡ay! ¡Cuánto quebranto!

¡Cuánto gemir inútil! ¡cuánto llanto

Oiré entonces sin que sienta el pecho

El duelo de la gente,

Que con gozo insolente

Reir los miro con mortal despecho!

“I in my vengeful rage shall unloose the savage winds...I shall despoil in my fury... the rich

land and all life upon it...what desolation! what futile groaning! what wailing!”—frightening

imagery that could very well describe the full impact of global warming in our century—the

Junto antedating by more than a century the Age of Stupid!

Towards an apocalyptic hermeneutics of Junto al Pasig

What shall we make of this remarkable play? The easy approach is from the perspective of

imperial Spain: the Spaniards conquered the natives to liberate them from a state of barbarism

and savagery—as represented by Satan—and, thus, civilize them into a life of reason,

knowledge and virtue under the protection and guidance of the most holy Roman Catholic

Church, as represented by the Virgin of Antipolo. Thus, Junto al Pasig is a paean to Spain‟s

mission civilisatrice.

9

This must have been how the Jesuits and other Spaniards saw the play. Thus, Prof Blas

Echegoyen, who composed the music for Junto‟s libretto relates in his congratulatory note

that sustained applause greeted the play, particularly the monologue of Satan: Felicitamos al

joven autor del libreto D. JOSÉ RIZAL. Su obra es muy bella en el detalle; el monólogo de

Satán, por sí solo, vale todos los aplausos que mereció del público toda la obra.15

Others, however, have seen Satan in a subversive anti-colonial, nationalist frame. Nick

Joaquin writes:

The devil‟s speeches, glorifying the Philippines‟ pre-Hispanic past, have provided

much food for debate. Was Rizal, when he wrote the play, already on the side of the

devil, not of the Christian boy? ... In the 1930s, critics bent on “finding five legs on the

cat (as the Spanish say) carried this hypothesis to an absurd extreme: not only was Rizal

on the side of the devil but the whole play is a glorification, not of the Virgin of

Antipolo, but of the old native pagan deities, whom Rizal, for safety‟s sake,

camouflaged in the image of the Virgin.

(The Complete Poems and Plays of Jose Rizal Translated by Nick Joaquin, Far Eastern

University, 1976: 12-13)

Joaquin raises the possibility that Rizal tried to clarify on whose side he was years later—in

his alleged unfinished third novel (which he gave up after having written five chapters). The

draft chapters hark back to “the early days of the Conquista, when the country had not been

wholly „pacified‟...and many of the folk still worshipped the old gods...but the defender of the

old faith is not the devil but an „old man richly attired.‟ Clearly, the sympathies of Rizal lay

with this old man: consider how the narrator (Rizal) alludes to the Satan of Junto al Pasig,

“Let us see now if that vanished old man was really the devil.” (Joaquin 1976, 16).

The hermeneutic preoccupation with Satan‟s glorification of the pre-Hispanic past, however,

misses Rizal‟s apocalyptic vision, which I submit is more relevant to our present

predicament. It would be instructive to compare Junto al Pasig‟s apocalyptic vision with the

latest data on the global crises, to which we now turn.

The Age of Stupid: global warming, peak oil, and the end of economic growth

Since the industrial revolution, we have been pumping carbon dioxide to the atmosphere,

causing it to warm up.16

The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is measured in terms of parts

per million (ppm). The upper safety limit for atmospheric CO2 is 350 parts per million (ppm)

[http://co2now.org/] The latest count, as of June 2011, is 393.69 and accelerating—just look

at the annual trend! (Fig 1)

15

In the backcover of the 1915 copy of Junto al Pasig

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14795/14795-h/14795-h.htm 16

“The basic proposition behind the science of climate change is so firmly rooted in the laws

of physics that no reasonable person can dispute it. All other things being equal, adding

carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere—by, for example, burning millions of tons of oil,

coal and natural gas—will make it warm up.” Michael D. Lemonick, “Global Warming:

Beyond the Tipping Point,” Scientific American Special Edition October 6, 2008 )

10

Fig 1. Atmospheric CO2: rate of increase

http://co2now.org/images/stories/widgets/co2_widget_brundtland_600_graph.gif

That means global warming has reached the tipping point.17

When a tipping point is reached,

extremes of weather ensue—super tornadoes, massive snowfall, heavy and prolonged rainfall

and extensive flooding alternating with extremely dry and hot weather, such as the European

summer of 2003 in which 20,000 died from overheating. Moreover, sea levels will rise and

swallow many coastal areas and small islands such as those in Oceania, certain species will

become extinct, diseases will spread, agricultural systems and food production will get

disrupted, resulting in horrendous food shortages and skyrocketing food prices.

In 29 March 2011, Lester Russell Brown, founder and president of Earth Policy Institute,

based in Washington D.C., warned,

Everything now depends on this year's harvest. Lowering food prices to a more

comfortable level will require a bumper grain harvest, one much larger than the

record harvest of 2008 that combined with the economic recession to end the

2007-08 grain price climb. If the world has a poor harvest this year, food prices

will rise to previously unimaginable levels. Food riots will multiply, political

unrest will spread and governments will fall. The world is now one poor harvest

away from chaos in world grain markets.18

17

Tipping points—such as the loss of Arctic sea ice, or the release of methane from the

melting permafrost of Siberia—are triggers that, once reached, could lead to sudden and

irrevocable changes in the climate. Such a catastrophic change is preceded by the sudden

variance between two distinct states within one system (known as squealing). For example,

increased variability of the weather, as manifested, for example, in sudden shifts from hot

temperatures to colder ones and back again, signals that a tipping point—and collapse—is

about to happen. [Bryan Walsh, “Is There a Climate Tipping Point?” Time.com 04 Sept

2009.

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1920168,00.html#ixzz1M9MNHpNU

Accessed 13 May 2011] 18

Lester R. Brown‟s essay may be accessed at http://www.ourfutureplanet.org/news/556.

11

“Before this century is over,” writes famed scientist James Lovelock, “billions of us will die,

and the few breeding pairs of people that survive will be in the Arctic where the climate

remains tolerable." [http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/environment-in-crisis-we-

are-past-the-point-of-no-return-523192.html Accessed 10 May 2011]. Other climate scientists

believe that we have one last chance to avert such colossal catastrophe—if we do the right thing from now to 2020.

19

Indeed, global warming is “the greatest danger facing our planet” and “the biggest moral

issue of our lifetime.”20

As if climate change is not horrific enough, we are facing a second crunch—peak oil.

Fossil fuels (petroleum in the crude oil, diesel, gasoline and kerosene, as well as natural gas,

and coal)—have been the prime mover of industrial civilization and the growth of capitalism.

Without the energy provided by fossil fuels, we wouldn‟t be where we are today—enjoying

the comforts of industrial civilization. But because of fossil fuels, the world is facing a

looming economic disaster.

Peak oil is premised on the fact that oil is a finite resource. In just a hundred years, we have

consumed one half of all the oil that the earth—or Gaia if you will—has produced for

19

The Australian federal government‟s climate commission, after weighing all the available

data, released on 23 May 2011, its report, The Critical Decade, which warned: “This is the

critical decade. Decisions we make from now to 2020 will determine the severity of climate

change our children and grandchildren experience…Without strong and rapid action there is a

significant risk that climate change will undermine our society‟s prosperity, health, stability

and way of life.” http://climatecommission.govspace.gov.au/files/2011/05/Climate-

Commission-Science-Report-Key-Messages1.pdf 20

There are, however, skeptics and deniers of anthropogenic global warming from some

strange quarters—among the most vociferous are Lyndon Larouche and his followers (the

Larouche movement) and the Republicans in the US congress. As revealed in a recent blog:

Today, Republicans in the House energy committee voted not once, not twice, but three

times [all PDFs], against amendments recognizing that climate change is real, despite

the broad scientific consensus that "climate change is happening and human beings are

a major reason for it." They then unanimously voted [PDF] in favor of the Upton-

Inhofe bill to repeal the EPA's scientific endangerment finding on greenhouse pollution.

The 31 Republicans and three Democrats who voted in favor of H.R. 910 have received

a grand total of $343,750 from Koch Industries, an average of more than $10,000 each.

Freshman Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), Koch's special man in Congress, tips the scales at

$79,500. (Brad Johnson, “House committee votes to deny climate change”

http://www.grist.org/article/2011-03-15-house-committee-votes-to-deny-climate-

change Accessed 11 May 2011 0].

For a point-by-point refutation of the false and misleading claims of climate skeptics and

deniers, visit www.skepticalscience.com, and read Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of

Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming by Naomi

Oreskes and Erik M. Conway (Bloomsbury Press, 2010), and Climate Change Denial: Heads

in the Sand by Haydn Washington and John Cook (Earthscan, 2011). For an updated graphic

presentation of all the incontrovertible scientific evidence, see The Critical Decade (2011), a

report by the Australian Federal government‟s climate commission at

http://climatecommission.gov.au/topics/the-critical-decade/

12

millions of years. Only one half of the remaining resource is available for consumption. Thus,

once the peak in oil production is reached, supply inevitably declines. And here‟s the

conundrum: Oil fuels the engines of economic growth, and with the phenomenal economic

rise of China and India, demand for oil is increasing. But the supply is decreasing. The result

is an oil crunch—and prices shoot through the roof and all hell breaks loose. As in global

warming, this outcome is inevitable.

Let‟s look at the most recent data—from the graph (figure 2) drawn by the United States

Department of Energy.

Fig. 2. World‟s liquid fuels: supply and demand

http://www.eia.doe.gov/conference/2009/session3/Sweetnam.pdf

Demand will begin to outstrip supply in 2012, and will already be 10 million barrels per day

above supply in only five years. 10 million bpd is equivalent to half the United States' entire

consumption. To make up the difference, the world would have to find another Saudi Arabia

and get it into full production in five years, an impossibility. Conventional oil will be almost

all gone in 20 years, and there is nothing known to replace it. 21

(http://www.theoildrum.com/node/5154).

21

The United States Joint Forces Command concurs with these specific findings

(http://www.jfcom.mil/newslink/storyarchive/2010/JOE_2010_o.pdf). In the UK, the report

of the Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil & Energy Security," funded by Virgin Group, Arup

Engineering, Foster and Partners, and Scottish and Southern Engineering, looking at the data,

has a stark forecast: “In the 2014-2015 period it is expected that demand will start to outrun

immediately available supply with prices advancing strongly.”

(http://peakoiltaskforce.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/final-report-uk-itpoes_report_the-

oil-crunch_feb20101.pdf). The study of the Future Analysis department of the Bundeswehr

Transformation Center, a think tank tasked with fixing a direction for the German military,

has done a similar study and arrived at the same conclusions. "Shortages in the supply of vital

goods could arise" as a result, for example in food supplies. Oil is used directly or indirectly

in the production of 95 percent of all industrial goods. Price shocks could therefore be seen in

13

What is the impact of the oil crunch on the global economy? Look at the graph below.

Fig. 3. World economic growth: historical and projected (annual growth rate of GDP), 1965-

2050. Minqi Li 2008: 163)

In his recent book, The Rise of China and the Demise of the Capitalist World Economy

(2008), economist Minqi Li, writes22

:

[Figure 3] shows that world economic growth would slow sharply after the peak of the

world oil production, falling below 3 percent a year. After the peak of the world coal

production, world economic growth rates will fall below 1 percent a year (this is likely

to imply negative growth rates of per capita world GDP). Finally, after 2045, as natural

gas production declines sharply, world economic output will decline in absolute terms.

Beyond 2050, as fossil fuels continue to decline, and as retired nuclear and hydro

production facilities are not fully replaced, and the potential of renewable energies‟

production is exhausted, the capitalist world economy (if it continues to exist) will enter

into permanent decline. (Minq Li 2008, 162-163)

The total impact of these convergent crises will be catastrophic on a population that

continuous to grow exponentially.

almost any industry and throughout all stages of the industrial supply chain. "In the medium

term the global economic system and every market-oriented national economy would

collapse." [Der Spiegel http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,715138-

2,00.html]. 22

Minqi Li was a student activist in China before he left for the USA, where he obtained the

BA in Economics (summa cum laude) at the University in Delaware (1996) and the PhD in

Economics at the University of Massachusets Amherst (2002). He is now a faculty member

of the Department of Economics at the University of Utah. He may be contacted at

minqi.li@economics.utah.edu

14

Fig. 4 Total World Population Explosion 1950-2050

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, International Data Base

http://www.emeraldecocity.com/pictures/World%20Human%20Population%20Explosion.jpg

All these trends indicate that continued economic growth will no longer be possible, and that

industrial civilization or the capitalist world system, as we know it, will come to an end. The

world of our children and grandchildren, ca 2050, could very well be the future world of

damnation conjured by Satan in Junto al Pasig, ca 1880—a world of desolation!

That is one definite possibility. But the crises that we face today can also open up

opportunities for creating the world we desire—indeed, a better world is possible. Let‟s go

back to Junto al Pasig.

A LA VIRGEN MARIA

Given the impending catastrophes, What then is to be done? Note that Leonido is given a

choice—Satan or the Virgin. Leonido chooses the Virgin. Thus, Leonido is saved, but only

for the moment. There is no indication that Satan has been utterly destroyed. He could still

fulfill his curse to wreak havoc in the future. Could the Virgin forestall this? If Satan is the

people‟s downfall, is the Virgin their salvation? But what was the 19 year old Rizal‟s concept

of the Virgin Mary?

On the same year that he wrote Junto al Pasig, Rizal wrote a poem, A la Virgen Maria, which

is instructive of Rizal‟s view of the Virgin.

Consider the first stanza—

Maria, dulce paz, caro consuelo

De afligido mortal! eres la fuente

Do mana de socorro la corriente,

Que sin pesar fecunda nuestro suelo.

15

Maria, dulce paz, caro consuelo de afligido mortal—sweet peace, dearest consolation of

afflicted mortal—suggests that Rizal was referring to Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje,

the Virgin of Antipolo.

It‟s hard to capture in translation the exquisitely precise and compact wording of the next

line—eres la fuente do mana de socorro la corriente, que sin pesar fecunda nuestro suelo—

You are the wellspring of a steady flow of caring that brings endless fecundation to our soil—

fecunda means fertile, fruitful, productive—nuestra suelo—literally, our soil—can refer to

our land, our earth; it can also pertain to our bodies, our very being. All this signifies what

sustains life—the image of Mother Earth.

The third stanza goes—

Eres mi Madre, placida Maria:

Tu mi vida seras, mi fortaleza:

Tu en este fiero mar seras mi guia.

Eres mi Madre, Placida Maria—you are my Mother, Mother Mary who is undisturbed by

tumult or disorder, calm, constant, steady—Tu mi vida seras—you shall be my life—mi

fortaleza—my fortress, my place of refuge that will safeguard me from harm—Tu en este

fiero seras mi guia—you shall be my guide in this wild sea.

The first and third stanzas of A La Virgen Maria correspond to the concluding chorus of

Junto al Pasig, to wit (Nick Joaquin translation): 23

Thy love and grace

The child that prays

Shall guard from evil strife;

Night and day,

Show him the way

Through this earthly life.

Tu cariño,

Al fiel niño

Le guarda siempre del mal;

Noche y día,

Tu le guías

En la senda terrenal.

For the 19-year old Rizal, the Virgin is the wellspring that sustains life, the source of fertility

and abundance, the constant provider of care and protection, the steady hand that will guide

us safely through the vicissitudes of life.

These attributes point to the Great Mother—an archetypal image that goes back to ancient

times, a figure that predates by thousands of years the Roman Catholic church‟s official

proclamation of the immaculate conception of Mary, mother of Jesus.24

Was Rizal linking the

Virgin of Antipolo to the archetypal Great Mother, the earth and fertility goddess?

The Virgin of Guadalupe, Mexico‟s patron saint, has been linked to the Great Mother

archetype—dating back to the Virgin‟s apparition, on 8 December 1531, to an Indian peasant

convert, on Tepeyac Hill, right on top of what used to be the temple of Tonantzin, Mexico‟s

23

As I read Rizal‟s A La Virgen Maria and the concluding chorus of Junto al Pasig, I cannot

help but recall the songs of Paul McCartney—Let It Be and The Long and Winding Road.

Both poems and songs sound uncannily contemporaneous. 24

See Bernard Lietaer‟s illuminating discussion in “Beyond Greed and Scarcity”

http://www.lietaer.com/images/Interview_Yes!.pdf Accessed 23 May 2011

16

indigenous, pre-Hispanic earth and fertility goddess. By the 19th

century, Guadalupe has

become “a catalyst for nationalist goals and a focus for anti-Spanish sentiments.”—a rallying

symbol for the War of Independence (1810-1821) and The Great Revolution (1910)25

Interestingly, the Virgin of Antipolo also hails from Mexico—she was brought to the

Philippines in 1626, at about the time when the cult of the Virgin of Guadalupe was growing

and spreading. Could the Virgin of Antipolo have had the potential to be a rallying symbol

for the Filipinos in Rizal‟s time? But we now know that the Virgin of Antipolo, unlike

Guadalupe, did not become a national emblem. Why?

As explained by both Peterson and Eric Wolf, the crucial factor in Guadalupe‟s power as a

rallying symbol is that she has been viewed by the broad masses, creoles and mestizos and

peasants of Mexico as the embodiment of the pre-Hispanic earth and fertility godess

Tonantzin-Coatlicue (Our Lady Mother), the goddess of the cosmos, sacred guardian and

mother image for the Mexican nation (Peterson, 46).26

The Virgin of Antipolo, on the other hand, could not be assimilated to a potent pre-colonial

indigenous symbol. The Philippines does not have the equivalent of a Tonantzin. The reason

may be that, having learned their lessons in the Mexican War of Independence in 1810, the

Philippines‟ ruling peninsulares (gachupines in Mexico) did all they could to, as Leonido put

it, destroy all traces of any indigenous cult or object of worship. The process of erasure might

have begun even much earlier—peninsular friars in Mexico have decried the cult of

Guadalupe as early as fifty years after the Conquest, and their reports must have reached the

Philippines in the early years of colonization.27

Another factor that might have militated against the Virgin becoming a national emblem

could be the Philippine cholera epidemic of 1882-23. The statistics are horrific: 30,000 dead

25

The instigator of the Mexican revolution or War of Independence (1810-1821), Fr Miguel

Hidalgo, a creole, “took up the banner of Guadalupe, giving the Virgin the title of „General

Captain‟ and parading the image around each of the city plazas he entered on his march to

Mexico City”. Hidalgo‟s successor, Fr. Jose Maria Morelos, a mestizo, “required all Mexican

patriots to wear the emblem of Guadalupe”. The leaders of Great Revolution of 1910, Pancho

Villa and Emiliano Zapata, “both invoked the Virgin of Guadalupe in support of their cause.

Zapatistas wore her image in the band of their wide-brimmed hats” (Jeanette Favrot Peterson

“The Virgin of Guadalupe: Symbol of Conquest or Liberation?” Art Journal vol 51 no.4,

Latin American Art (Winter,1992), 45). 26

Peterson 1992, 46. See also Eric Wolf, “The Virgin of Guadalupe: A Mexican National

Symbol”, in A Reader in the Anthropology of Religion edited by Michael Lambek (Blackwell

Publishing, 2002) p. 172. 27

One such report comes from Fr Bernardino de Sahagun, who says: “Now that the Church

of Our Lady of Guadalupe has been built there [Tepeyac Hill], they [the natives] call her

Tonantzin too… The term refers…to that ancient Tonantzin and this state of affairs should be

remedied, because the proper name of the Mother of God is not Tonantzin, but Dios and

Nantzin. It seems to be a Satanic device to mask idolatry…and they come from far away to

visit that Tonantzin, as much as before; a devotion which is also suspect because there are

many churches of Our Lady everywhere and they do not go to them; and they come from far

away lands to this Tonantzin as of old.” Bernardino de Sahagun, Historia general de las

cosas de nueva españa (Mexico, 1938), I, lib.6; cited in Eric Wolf, “The Virgin of

Guadalupe: A Mexican National Symbol”.

17

in Manila and surrounding areas in less than 3 months; 1,300 deaths everyday at its peak.

According to one report, “For days, dead bodies littered the streets around San Lazaro

hospital and corpse-laden vehicles blocked access to cemeteries, further compounding the

health hazards.” (Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence: From Ancient Times to the Present

Third Edtion. edited by George C. Kohn, p. 305. Infobase Publishing, 2008)

Nothing could stem the epidemic, notwithstanding the fervent prayers, masses, processions

and offerings to the Virgin. Thus, the Virgin‟s intercession in the fictional case of Leonido

had not been replicated in the actual case of a most critical moment in 1882. I would venture

to surmise that, as a consequence of the cholera epidemic of 1882-83, the prestige of the

clergy waned irreparably. For the same reason, the prestige of the medical profession

brightened (because not all who were stricken with cholera died, some benefitted from

medical intervention and survived), thereby encouraging privileged young Filipinos to pursue

a career in medicine, preferably abroad.

Thus, unlike the Virgin of Guadalupe, the Virgin of Antipolo (or any other image of the

Virgin, for that matter) did not become a rallying symbol in the Revolution against Spain and

the war of resistance against the invading American imperialists. Unlike Guadalupe, the

Virgin of Antipolo had not had the same impact in Philippine history—although Filipinos

habitually appeal to the Virgin whenever they find themselves in trouble. The dangerous

hours of the EDSA uprising in 1986 is a notable example. Many demonstrators not only

prayed to the Virgin but also used her as some sort of amulet or anting-anting to drive away

the tanks that were sent by Marcos to destroy his military opponents who sought refuge at

Camp Aguinaldo. But that didn‟t make the Virgin become a national emblem like the

Guadalupe.28

For his part, as he grew older and wallowed in the modern, secular enticements of Europe,

Rizal seems to have forgotten the Virgin Mary. Rizal must have realized that the answer to

Satan‟s curse—which, in our present context, as I have mentioned earlier, is the triple

whammy of global warming, peak oil, and the end of economic growth—could not be the

cult of the Virgin or any external symbol, religious or secular, to which we, the people, could

depend on for our survival. We have to take matters into our own hands—to defend

ourselves, and thrive. But, exactly how and where and when to begin? Therein lies the rub!

Rizal had agonized over this question in the Noli-Fili—and the answer he came up with is

“unite with the people”, “sow an idea…aspire to be a nation” and cast away greed and

selfishness. Very well, but these are all motherhood statements that do not address the

Leninist question, What is to be done? When the disconsolate Simoun pressed Fr. Florentino

for an answer, all that the good priest could say was a disappointing, “Suffer and wait.” It

seemed that Rizal had not yet figured out the answer in the Fili.

Two years after writing the Fili, Rizal was closer to the answer. The way forward was to form

the La Liga Filipina, a mass-based organization that will pursue a 5-point program, namely,

1) unite the whole archipelago into one compact, vigorous, and homogenous body; 2) mutual

28

To be sure, there are many popular forms of Marian devotion in the Philippines—to such

images as Virgen La Naval de Manila, Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de Turumba of Pakil,

Laguna and Nuestra Señora de Salambao of Obando, Bulacan (the last two are featured in

Rizal‟s Noli me tangere)—but they have not attained the same national cult status as the

Guadalupe of Mexico.

18

protection in every case of trouble and need, 3) defense against every violence and injustice;

4) development of education, agriculture, and commerce; 5) study and implementation of

reforms. 29

The Spanish regime correctly saw Rizal‟s project as a movement towards an

independent nation and, thus, promptly arrested and exiled him to Dapitan in 1892—which

proved to be a blessing in disguise! For it was in Dapitan that Rizal finally realized and put

into practice, the solution to the problem posed in Junto al Pasig.

HIMNO A TALISAY and HIMNO AL TRABAJO: TOWARDS A

SOLUTION

Rizal had declared explicitly in 1888 that “our sacred mission” is “the formation of the

Filipino nation.”30

He had hoped that the Liga would be the means—the social movement—

towards this end. But where to begin, and how? In Dapitan, Rizal realized that the best, if not

the only way, to proceed is by acting locally—with the people of a particular place—using

local resources and responding to local needs. This is now taken for granted—scholarly

articles now abound on “community action” and “grassroots innovation” 31

But in Rizal‟s

time, it was a bold idea—precisely because it was subversive of the existing colonial order.

Rizal‟s four years in Dapitan have not been fully explored for the light they can shed on

contemporary issues in community studies. His poems during this period have not been

critically studied. For that matter, the significance of the school he founded had not merited

scholarly commentary.32

Many Rizal biographers, notably Austin Coates, have seen those

years as nothing much more than four lonely years that Rizal was forced to endure, as if what

29

Post colonial Filipinos (unlike the Katipunan and revolutionary ilustrados) have

misconstrued the statement “Estudio y aplicaciòn de reformas” to mean the study and

application of reformist measures within the framework of the colonial system, which is

contrary to what Rizal meant. The term reformas in the context of the Liga referred to the

necessary changes that will redound to the benefit of the people and lead to the development

of the country independently of Spain. See my discussion in Chapter 1, “Toward a Radical

Rizal” in A Nation Aborted (2008), 30

Rizal‟s 27 July 1888 letter to Mariano Ponce reads in part: “If you write to Plaridel [del

Pilar‟s nom de plume], please tell him that I rejoice with our country and all our good

countrymen that we are united and solid so that we can help one another. His articles seem to

me to be very well written and not only am I grateful to him but all our countrymen, because

all of us work for our country and our pen writes not for anybody but for our motherland. On

the day when all Filipinos should think like him and like us, on that day we shall have

fulfilled our sacred mission which is the formation of the Filipino nation. (italics mine).

Rizal’s Correspondence with Fellow Reformists, 1882-1896. Jose Rizal National Centennial

Commission. Manila, 1961 31

See Jill Seyfang, Adrian Smith, and Noel Longhurst, “Grassroots Innovations for

Sustainable Development: a New Research Agenda,” in economic sociology_the european

electronic newsletter Volume 12, Number 1 (November 2010). Available at

http://www.steps-centre.org/PDFs/Seyfangetal_econsoc.pdf 32

So far, I‟ve not come across or heard of a Ph.D dissertation on Rizal‟s Dapitan years. This

is puzzling because Rizal‟s school project in Talisay predates the progressive

school/community projects of Rabindranath Tagore‟s Santiniketan ashram (ca 1901),

Gandhi‟s Kheda ashram (ca. 1918), A.S.Neill‟s Summerhill (ca 1921), Bertrand Russell‟s

Beacon Hill School (ca1927) and Arthur Morgan‟s Moraine Park School (1917), and many

more progressive, experimental schools founded in the 20th century.

19

he did during those four years were simply the good deeds of a multi-talented, highly

educated man who was trying to escape boredom. Those fruitful four years in Dapitan have

become Rizal‟s most unappreciated legacy. Yet they are precisely what make Rizal singularly

relevant for the 21st century.

Significantly, all the poems of Rizal during his Dapitan exile omit any reference or allusion to

the Virgin. Flor Entre Flores, A Don Ricardo Carnicero, A Mi Retiro, and Himno a Talisay,

and Himno al Trabaho exalt the raw beauty of Dapitan. 33

Rizal‟s geographical description in

his unpublished novel is breathtaking:

Dapitan is situated by a handsome bay that faces West, on some sort of island formed

expressly for her, as if in order to isolate her from the vulgar world, by a lovely river

which to this end has graciously consented to split itself into two, thus to embrace her

with two silvery arms and carry her towards the sea as an offering, the most beautiful

that it has found in its tortuous and eventful pilgrimage over mountains and valleys,

through forests and plain (Translated from the original Spanish text by George

Aseniero).34

Rizal was charmed by his place of exile and would thrive in it.

In his first year in Dapitan, Rizal lived in the house of the governor and military

commandant, Capt. Ricardo Carnicero, which was just across the town‟s central plaza. He

later bought, with Carnicero and another Spaniard residing in Diplog, a lottery ticket. This

was to prove fortuitous. Rizal‟s lottery ticket won 2nd

prize. With his lottery earnings, 35

Rizal

was able to move to Talisay, a coastal barrio off the Dapitan poblacion.36

Thus begun his

proto-Utopian experiment.

Rizal bought an 18-hectare land on which he built a house, a clinic and a schoolhouse for

local boys (mostly “poor and intelligent”), and started what we would now call a model

organic farm. It may have been in celebration of his most important achievement in Talisay

33

The extant original manuscript of Himno a Trabajo is undated, but, curiously, Nick

Joaquin presumes it to be of the European period (Joaquin 1976, 278). It‟s celebration of the

rural folk happily engaged in agricultural labor—heralding men going to the fields, to till the

earth (al campo, la tierra a labrar)—leads me to consider it as one of Rizal‟s Dapitan poems. 34

From Chapter 1 of Rizal‟s unfinished novel. Cited in Peter Walpole, “Dapitan Most

Beautiful” http://essc.org.ph/content/view/472/104/ (11 May 2011) 35

The second prize was divided equally—one third or 6,000 pesos each— among the three

ticket holders. After paying some small debts in Manila, Rizal sent 2,000 pesos to his father

and 200 pesos to Basa. (Jose Baron, Jose Rizal. Filipino Doctor and Patriot. Manuel Morato

1980, 255). 36

The place is named after a large deciduous tree, usually found along seashores throughout

the Philippines, that grows to a height of about 25 meters; its fruits, leaves and bark are said

to have medicinal properties. Studies have shown that the leaves of the Talisay tree have the

following medicinal properties: antioxidant/hepatoprotective, antimestatic (protection against

lung cancer), analgesic, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, and

antiparasitic. Its seeds have been reported to have an aphrodisiac effect. For a list of the

studies/sources, see http://www.stuartxchange.org/Talisay.html .

20

that Rizal wrote Himno a Talisay in 1895—dedicated to his pupils and meant to be sung by

them.37

HIMNO A TALISAY

Like Junto al Pasig, Himno a Talisay starts and ends with a chorus. Just as in the Junto, the

Himno‟s opening chorus conjures a wonderful place. But more than the Junto, the Himno

evokes an abiding sense of locality, a pride of place—the joy of growing up in Talisay, living

and dying there. Here‟s the Himno’s opening chorus:

The sandy beach of Dapitan

and the rocks of its lofty mountain

are your throne. O sacred asylum

where I passed my childhood days!

In your valley covered with flowers

and shaded by fruitful orchards,

our minds received their formation,

both body and soul, by your grace.

(Nick Joaquin translation)

De Dapitan la playa arenosa

y las rocas del monte encumbrado

son tu trono, oh asilo sagrado!

donde mi tiema niñes.

En tu valle que esmeltan las flores

y sombra frutal arboleda,

nuestra mente formada se queda,

con el cuerpo nuestro el alma la vez.

In its concluding chorus, the Himno a Talisay dramatically diverges from the Junto‟s

concluding lines. Instead of paying homage to the Virgin, the Himno pays homage to

Talisay, the place:

Long live luxuriant Talisay!

Our voices exalt you in chorus,

clear star, dear treasure of childhood,

a childhood you guide and please.

In the struggles that await the grown man,

subject to pain and sorrow,

your memory shall be his amulet;

and your name, in the tomb, his peace

(Nick Joaquin translation)

Vive, vive frondoso Talisay!

Nuestras voces te ensalcen a coro,

clara estrella, preciado tesoro

de la infancia doctrina y solaz.

En las luchas que aguardian al hombre,

a pesares y duelos sujeto,

tu memoria sera su amuleto,

y en la tumba tu nombre, su paz.

Both the Junto and the Himno al Talisay portray the exuberance of youth. But the Himno al

Talisay is heralding something entirely new—a radical departure from the way children were

supposed to be educated and raised at that time. Rizal‟s stress on education has been

misunderstood and degraded by the nationalist left as merely reformism—perhaps this is a

reaction to the American colonial policy of education (which proved more effective than the

Spanish colonial system of education). Rizal understood the crucial role of education in social

transformation, and would have agreed wholeheartedly with a contemporary progressive

author, who writes,

The educational system is one of society's primary sites for political socialization.

There you create citizens. The classroom is also where citizens are equipped with the

critical frameworks needed to ask hard questions about the common good, their role in

society, and the State's obligation to the people.” (“The Right's 'Big Lie' Strategy: When

37

Rizal mentions fourteen pupils, but the Dapitan shrine today lists 24.

21

Losing, Simply Rewrite History.” By Chauncey DeVega, AlterNet. Posted on May 13,

2011, Printed on May 28, 2011 http://www.alternet.org/story/150937/ )

Although Nick Joaquin finds it “incredible” (Joaquin 1976, 279), it is easy to see why the

Spanish authorities used the Himno al Talisay as one of the evidence against Rizal in his trial

for treason in December 1896. The very thrust of the new school of Talisay (as I prefer to call

it) was subversive of the colonial educational system. And Rizal was the school‟s founder

and only teacher.

Consider the Talisay boys‟ proud description of their education in the new school of Talisay:

Los problemas de ciencias exactas,

de la patria la historia estudiamos

tres y cuatro lenguajes hablamos

acordando la fe y la razon.

The problems of the exact sciences,

of the history of the nation we study,

three or four languages we speak

harmonizing faith and reason.

(my translation)

Unlike the rote memorization and passive learning characteristic of the parochial school, the

Talisay system deploys the inquiry method—the stress is on solving los problemas de

ciencias exactas, covering both sciences and maths. The history of the country, and the study

of three or four languages—which have been deliberately avoided in the parochial school—

are among the hallmark of the new Talisay curriculum. Religion is taught in accordance with

reason—acordando la fe y la razon—echoing Rizal‟s Dapitan debate (by way of

correspondence) with Fr. Pablo Pastells on the issue of revelation.38

Remarkably, aside from the academic disciplines, the new school also teaches practical skills

useful in agriculture and construction work—a azada, la picqueta. Moreover, the new school

of Talisay teaches martial arts—el cuchillo, el fusil y la espada—necessary skills of the

strong man!

Nuestros brazos manejan a un tiempo

el cuchillo, la pluma, la azada,

la picqueta, el fusil y la espada,

compañeros del fuerte varon.

Our hands can wield at the same time

the knife, the pen, the spade,

the pickaxe, the rifle, and the sword,

companions of the strong man.

(my translation)

38

A good place to start in exploring Rizal‟s religious thought is he Rizal- astells

correspondence the hitherto unpu lished letters of os Rizal and portions of Fr. Pablo

Pastell's fourth letter and translation of the correspondence together with a historical

bacakground and theological critique. By Jose Rizal, Pablo Pastells, and Raul Bonoan,

Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1994. For other commentaries, see Eugene Hessel, The

Religious Thought of Rizal New Day Publishers, 1983; Rolando M Gripaldo, “Agnostic

Deism: Rizal‟s religious philosophy (Or the Religious Debate between Jose Rizal and Pablo

Pastells, S.J.)” Φιλοσοφια, International Journal of Philosophy, vol. 31(1), January 2002. We

have yet to see a critique of Rizal‟s religious views from an atheistic perspective—à la

Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion, 2006) or Sam Harris (Letter to a Christian Nation,

2006) or Christopher Hitchens (God Is Not Great, 2007).

22

The new school keeps the children healthy in body and spirit, and nurtures them to be brave

and self-reliant, and to grow into strong and capable men who can protect their homes, ready

to fight effectively when the need arises—

Somos niños que nada intimada

ni las olas, ni el baguio, ni el trueño ;

pronto el brazo y el rostro sereno

en el trance sabremos luchar.

…

No hay tinieblas, no hay noches oscuras

que temamos, ni fiera tormenta ;

y si el mismo Luzbel se presenta,

muerto o vivo cogido ha de ser.

We are children that nothing frightens

not the waves, nor the storm, nor the thunder;

the arm ready, and the face serene,

in a difficult situation we shall know how to

fight.

...

There‟s no darkness, no dark night,

that we fear, no savage storm;

if Lucifer himself comes forward

we shall catch him, dead or alive!

(my translation)

The reference to Lucifer is significant. Compare Leonido of the Junto and the boys of

Talisay. Although Leonido is defiant and not afraid at all of Satan, he is powerless and

defenceless against him and his minions. He was saved in the nick of time by the angel, who

tells him that his deliverance from Satan‟s clutches was due to the Virgin‟s intercession.

In contrast, the boys of Talisay, the Talisaynons, as they proudly call themselves, are capable

of defending themselves and subduing Satan—without divine intervention!

But this heretical point was ignored by the Spanish prosecutors in Rizal‟s trial. They instead

pounced on the lines—en el trance sabremos luchar and Nuestros brazos manejan a un

tiempo el cuchillo, la pluma, la azada, la picqueta, el fusil y la espada, compañeros del fuerte

varon—to prove that Rizal was training his boys for revolutionary action. Rizal, in his

defence, nonchalantly replied that he was simply portraying his young pupils as ready to

defend Dapitan in the event of a Moro raid (Joaquin 1976, 279).

Rizal was not being completely honest with the prosecution. For he had expressed similar

sentiments elsewhere. In his 27 June 1888 letter to Mariano Ponce, he wrote:

The principal thing that should be demanded from a Filipino of our generation is...to be

a good man, a good citizen, who would help his country to progress with his head, his

heart, and if need be, with his arms. With the head and the heart we ought to work

always; with the arms when the time comes (Rizal-fellow reformists, 173).

The whole point of the new school of Talisay was precisely to produce “the good man, the

good citizen who would help his country to progress with his head, his heart, and if need be,

with his arms”—and not merely to defend Dapitan in case of a dreaded Moro raid.

Lest we hastily conclude that Rizal had ignored the role of women—his Talisay school did

not include girls—we should turn to his Himno al Trabajo. This poem complements Himno a

Talisay and, therefore, should be read alongside it. The Spanish prosecutors should have

seized the opening and closing chorus of Himno al Trabajo as additional proof that Rizal was

already affirming a nation independent of Spain:

23

Por la patria en la guerra,

por la patria en la paz,

valerà el filipino,

vivirà y morirà!

For his country at war,

for his country at peace,

the Filipino will stand guard,

will live and will die! (Nick Joaquin trans)

More than the Himno a Talisay, the Himno al Trabajo is a paean to the rural folk—

celebrating the labor of men and women, boys and girls. The opening lines hail the men who

go to the fields at dawn to till the earth, and, thus, sustain the nation, the family and the

hearth—

HOMBRES:

Ya el Oriente de luz se colora,

Sus! 39

al campo, la tierra a labrar,

que el trabajo del hombre sostiene

a la patria, familia y hogar…

The next lines pay homage to the industry of women and their strength as pillars of the home,

especially their role in teaching the children love for the nation, virtue and truth. Note that the

last two lines of the stanza— si el hado es adverso, la esposa la tare a sabrà continuar (if

fate be adverse, the wife will know how to carry on)—evoke the image of a strong and

capable wife and mother who will not crumble in the event of misfortune or adversity, which

is in stark contrast to the Noli‟s Sisa or Doña Pia. Rizal‟s views on women in Hymno al

Trabajo are reminiscent of his earlier letter “To My Young Countrywomen of Malolos”

(1889) 40

—

ESPOSAS :

Animosos partid al trabajo

que la esposa el hogar vela fiel,

inculcando el amor a los hijos

por la patria, virtud y saber.

Cuando traiga la noche el descanso,

la ventura os aguardia al entrar;

y si el hado es adverso, la esposa

la tare a sabrà continuar.

THE WOMEN:

Gaily go off to work;

home will the wife keep smooth,

teaching the children love

for the nation, virtue and truth.

When night comes to bring repose,

may fortune welcome you home;

but if luck be adverse, the wife

will know how to carry on.

(Nick Joaquin trans)

The third stanza is dedicated to the girls (doncellas) and hails labor as the health and wealth

of the native land. Of particular interest is its advice to young women on what to look for in a

man, or what to expect of their suitors—exactly the same advice that Rizal gave to the

women of Malolos—

DONCELLAS :

Salve! salve! Loor al trabajo,

de la patria riqueza y vigor!

THE GIRLS:

Hail, all hail, and praise to labor:

health and wealth of the native land!

39

Sus! is from Jesus!—a folk exclamation. 40

A good English translation of the original Tagalog may be accessed at

http://www.filipiniana.net/publication/to-my-young-countrywomen-of-

malolos/12791881712979/1/3

24

Por el yergue la frente serena,

es su sangre, su vida y su ardor.

Si algun joven pregona su afecto,

el trabajo su fe probarà ;

solo el hombre que lucha y se afana,

sostener a su prole sabrà.

Lift up your brow with pride for work

is life and blood and the heart‟s command!

If any young man proclaims his love,

his toil shall of his faith be proof,

for only the man who strives and labors

will know how to sustain a roof.

(Nick Joaquin trans)

The last stanza returns to the theme of Himno a Talisay—

NIÑOS:

Enseñadnos las duras faenas;

vuestras huellas queremos seguir,

que mañana, al llamamos la patria,

vuestra empresa podamos concluir…

THE BOYS:

Teach us the arduous labors:

in your steps our steps would throb;

so tomorrow, when the nation calls us,

we shall know how to finish the job...

(Nick Joaquin trans)

The central theme of the Himno al Trabajo as well as the Himno a Talisay is crucial: to serve

the nation well by learning and working and thriving in a particular place and community.

For Rizal, the Filipino nation is not an abstract, imagined national community—supposedly

represented by, or embodied in, the Philippine State (hence, the nation-state).41

The nation is

to be realized concretely in a particular place, a particular community. Rizal‟s life in Dapitan

is a testament to how this is to be done. As he began his exile in Dapitan, Rizal resolved--"I

am determined to do everything I can for this town..." 42

And he did!

When Rizal arrived in Dapitan in 1892, there were only two colonial institutions in that

district: the police, headed by the Spanish commandant, and the church, administered by a

Jesuit priest.43

Although there as a health officer, there was no medical doctor attending to the

medical needs of the poor villagers. There was no park, no street lights, no irrigation system.

The farming and fishing townfolk were left to their ancient devices, without assistance from

the colonial regime, although they were required to pay taxes, go to confession, attend

Sunday mass, and give their weekly offerings to the church.

Rizal was to change all that upon his arrival. He built a one-doctor hospital, and paid with his

own money the medical supplies and instruments. Nothwithstanding his expenses, the

41

I develop this more fully in chapter 6, “Rizal‟s Concept of the Filipino Nation”, A Nation

Aborted, revised 2nd

edition 2008. 42

Cited in Walpole, “Dapitan, Most Beautiful” http://essc.org.ph/content/view/472/104/ (11

May 2011) 43

Rizal had arrived just a week before the town fiesta (the feast of Santiago de Compostela,

Spain‟s patron saint). Dr. George Aseniero, grandson of Rizal‟s start pupil in Talisay, Jose

Aseniero (who would become Zamboanga‟s first governor under American rule) wrote to me

in an email, “According to my grandfather's memoirs, Dapitan‟s fiesta of 1892 was the day of

Rizal‟s „introduction‟ to the townsfolk -- and in quite dramatic fashion, too. There were

fireworks, there was a nasty accident -- a guy was in great pain when firecrackers blew up in

his hand -- and a doctor hurried down from Casa Real to attend to him. That day, all of

Dapitan and the neighboring towns came to know of this doctor who had come to stay amidst

them.”

25

Dapitan folk received free medical and surgical care. Wenceslao Retana relates in his

biography of Rizal,

It was said that Rizal the doctor did not charge anyone who was of the town [Dapitan].

But if a stranger came to consult him, and there were several, he charged them

according to their means; money thus earned he dedicated entirely to something or

other that would redound to the benefit of the town. There was a rich Englishman who

came to consult him: Rizal removed his cataract and charged him 500 duros, which the

Englishman gladly paid. Those 500 duros Rizal donated to Dapitan for public lighting

which it did not have. In the front yard of his home he built a hospital, open to all on his

account… (318)44

Rizal stimulated business activity by forming a cooperative—Sociedad de Agricultores

Dapitanos, where capital was to be provided by "socios industriales" and "socios

accionistas". S.A.D. aimed to "improve/promote agricultural products, obtain better profits

for them, provide capital for the purchase of these goods, and help to the extent possible the

harvesters and labourers by means of a store (coop) where articles of basic necessity are sold

at moderate prices." Rizal also engaged in what we now call “social entrepreneurship”—

perhaps the first Filipino to do so—innovative business activity aimed principally at

benefiting and transforming the community in which it is undertaken (with most of the profit

reinvested back into the community).45

He had a joint-venture with Carreon [a Spanish

entrepreneur] for the construction and operation of a lime-burner, whereby Rizal would

provide capital and Carreon would mobilize and supervise labour whose wages were to be

paid by Rizal; these advances would be deducted from the sale proceeds of lime, the profit

thereof to be equally divide between Rizal and Carreon.

In addition Rizal built a schoolhouse where he gave free education to the community‟s

brightest boys and young men in exchange for their services in his projects. With his pupils

he was able to build Dapitan‟s first dam and irrigation system, a project he carried out like a

recreational and educational class activity. He also taught the village folk how to improve

their farming and fishing techniques, and introduced the European method of brickmaking.

He developed Dapitan‟s first park, complete with street lamps and a garden/flower relief map

of the whole island of Mindanao. In short, Rizal was a one-man, self-funded N.G.O. (non-

government organization) for a massive community development effort.

Anyone who recalls the previous events in Calamba may wonder how Rizal managed to

realize his goal of doing everything he could for the people of Dapitan. No such development

44

Translated by George Aseniero, from Vida y Escritos del Dr. Jose Rizal, 1907, 318. The

original Spanish text may be accessed at

http://www.archive.org/stream/vidayescritosde00unamgoog/vidayescritosde00unamgoog_djv

u.txt 45

The Wikipedia defines “social entrepreneurship” as “the work of social entrepreneurs. A

social entrepreneur recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to

organize, create and manage a venture to achieve social change (a social venture). While

a business entrepreneur typically measures performance in profit and return, a social

entrepreneur focuses on creating social capital. Thus, the main aim of social entrepreneurship

is to further social and environmental goals. Social entrepreneurs are most commonly

associated with the voluntary and not-for-profit sectors [1]

, but this need not preclude making

a profit.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_entrepreneurship

26

projects could have materialized in Calamba. In fact any improvement that a Calamba farmer

brought about in his farmland—an irrigation system, for example—merited an increase in

rent. Thus, although Rizal may have proven a point, it is none too clear whether the Dapitan

example could have been duplicated elsewhere. Several factors worked to his advantage:

Dapitan was situated in the Muslim-dominated island of Mindanao, where Spanish control

was minimal; it was so far from Manila that authorities may have been inclined to ignore it,

and, more importantly, unlike Calamba, no friar corporations coveted the land. This leads us

to a crucial factor: not only was Rizal given a free hand in doing everything he could for the

town; he was also supported by Dapitan‟s military governor and its religious authorities, the

Jesuits. [Dapitan military governor] Carnicero and his successor Sitges provided funding for

Rizal's public works. These included the water pipeline, kiln for brick-making, streetlamps,

Mindanao map, plaza beautification and clean-up of marshes to rid of mosquitoes. Rizal built

Dapitan‟s first waterworks with the help of Fr. Sanchez and some Jesuit brothers. The support

from the authorities plus the enthusiastic involvement of the townsfolk enabled Rizal to

successfully carry out his projects.

During his four years in Dapitan, Rizal set the example and demonstrated what could be

accomplished by community effort. The changes were evident not only in material

improvements but also, and more important, in education and public health. Education was

perhaps Rizal‟s most important legacy in Dapitan. A less-tangible result of his exile was the

people's growing awareness that they could take the initiative in improving community life.46

Thus, the proper sequel to Junto al Pasig are the two hymns—Himno a Talisay and Himno al

Trabajo. Junto al Pasig poses the problem, the two hymns answer it. If Junto is a paean to

the Virgin, Himno a Talisay and Himno al Trabajo constitute a paean to a model community

in a particular place.

This then is Rizal‟s legacy for the 21st century—Dapitan, the creation of a robust community;

a model of how to respond to the looming catastrophes that our children and their children

will have to endure long after we‟re gone. Bernard Lietaer, professor of finance, designer of

the Euro and advocate of community currency, defines community thus—

The origin of the word "community" comes from the Latin munus, which means the

gift, and cum, which means together, among each other. So community literally means

to give among each other. Therefore I define my community as a group of people who

welcome and honor my gifts, and from whom I can reasonably expect to receive gifts in

return.47

Rizal gifted the people of Dapitan with his vision, his talents and skills, knowledge and

experience to realize projects that would redound to their wellbeing; the people, in turn,

46

The preceding account of Rizal‟s Dapitan years is partly derived from A Nation Aborted,

revised 2nd

edition 2008, 387-388). George Aseniero, a Dapitan philanthropist and

entrepreneur, has also provided me valuable information on Rizal‟s life in Dapitan, some of

which he learned from his Lolo Jose Aseniero. He is currently editing for publication his Lolo

Jose‟s memoirs. 47 Bernard Lietaer, “Beyond Greed and Scarcity”

http://www.lietaer.com/images/Interview_Yes!.pdf Accessed 23 May 2011

27

welcomed and honored his gifts and gave him the gift of their labour and wholehearted

participation in his projects. It was this reciprocity and sharing that revitalized Dapitan into a

thriving community.

Alas, the Talisay idyll would not last. Over a century after Rizal‟s execution, the model

community that he built has been transformed into a stale museum of replicas of his house,

school and clinic sitting on manicured lawns—like mute monuments who can never speak to

us and with whom we can never interact. Save for the dam which is in a decrepit state, the

other infrastructure that Rizal built with the help of the townsfolk are now forgotten ruins and

discarded debris. A recent visitor, the environmentalist Jesuit Pedro Walpole, wryly observes:

It is surprising that the well-sung history of Rizal in Dapitan has never gone after his

industrious past. Due to the yellowness of the water, Rizal designed for the local

government a two-kilometer delivery of water to the edge of the island city where

people came continuously in bancas to get drinking water. It is a wonderful surprise to

find the base of the lion fountain in the tidal waste of Barangay Talisay. Stretches of the

double clay piping are still visible along the hillside. He made the outside pipe on the

other side of city at Barangay Maria Cristina in the kiln where he could produce 6,000

bricks in a day. The domed oven now supports a barangay road on top of it and has pigs

at one end and roosters at the other.48

Yet, what did the government officials (were they from National Historical Institute?) do with

the reportedly 35 million peso fund that was allocated for the Dapitan shrine during the

centenary of the Revoluiton fifteen years ago? The visiting experts decided that it was nice to

build boardwalks all over the place so that tourists can walk around the shrine and take

photos with their cellphones in comfort. They also thought it nice to build, observes Walpole,

“a new monument to Rizal on the foreshore where he arrived and was escorted to the Casa

Real in 1892 and a cement prow of at boat in the coastal wall at Talisay from where he left in

1896”. Unfortunately, the Manila experts did not consider the wishes of the people of

Dapitan.49

The money could have been used to revive Rizal‟s forgotten legacy in Talisay and

transform it into a living heritage site for the benefit of present and future generations of

Filipinos. The 1996-98 centenary was a lost opportunity.

Today‟s Rizal shrine in Talisay, which is overseen by the National Historical Institute but

managed by the local government, comprises 10 hectares of Rizal‟s original 18-hectare

property in Talisay. The other eight hectares were gifted by Rizal to his pupil and valet, Jose

Acopiado, in 1896, as he set for Manila enroute to Cuba. Today, the Acopiado heirs occupy

some 4 hectares; the rest have been taken over by squatters, among them a Rizalista cult.50

Judging from his description of Talisay in his Mi Retiro, Rizal would weep were he to see

today, ca 2011, the Talisay that he gave away in 1896.

Though now forgotten, Rizal‟s community work in Talisay and throughout Dapitan antedate

the community solutions that concerned social scientists, and progressive economic and

48 See Fr. Pedro Walpole‟s blog, “Dapitan, Most Beautiful”

http://essc.org.ph/content/view/472/104/ 49

According to prominent Dapitan resident George Aseniero, the NHI did not consult the

people of Dapitan and ignored his suggestions. (personal communication). 50

Personal communication from the heirs of Acopiado and Dr. George Aseniero. George and

his gracious wife Maria were my hosts when I visited Talisay in February 2011.

28

political analysts are advocating today.51

Today, as we try to extricate ourselves from the

somnambulism of the Age of Stupid and brace ourselves for the triple global whammy of

global warming, peak oil, and the end of economic growth, we would do well to learn from

Rizal‟s Dapitan years.

Actually, we have no choice. With the end of cheap oil and soaring commodity prices and

financial instability, we‟ll have to emulate or improve on Rizal‟s Talisay. As James Kunstler,

author of The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other

Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century (Grove Press, 2006) puts it, “The 21st

century is going to be much more about staying where you are, not about being in constant

motion. It's not going to be about mobility. It's going to be about being in a place that you

care about and you have to care for and that is going to change the basis of how we live in

this country. (James Kunster interview, http://www.globalpublicmedia.com/transcripts/431

Accessed 29 May 2011). And, like Rizal, we‟ll have to be creative about our “grassroots

innovations” and “community action”.

Fortunately, although not well covered in the mainstream media or the school curriculum,

many community-based initiatives have sprung—for example, transition towns, permaculture

(a design system based on natural, organic farming) and community currencies—which aim

to build resilient and sustainable communities. The goal of these “community solutions” is

two-fold: 1) to enable communities to cope with the shock of the triple crunch, and 2) pave

the way for a transition to a steady-state, post-growth, post-capitalist economy.

To cite one example of a community solution, in the event of an economic meltdown or

depression, people can still obtain the goods and services they need through a form of

exchange that does not involve the national currency (legal tender). One such local exchange

system is called Time Banks (or timebanking)—a type of community currency in which the

users create a form of mutual currency based on time.52

Members can earn the currency doing

community focused activities and then 'spend' it receiving services from others.

(http://noellonghurst.blogspot.com/). Although considered an innovative concept in the

51

—such as David Korten (Agenda for a New Economy), Richard Heinberg (The End of

Growth), James Howard Kunstler (The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate

Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century), Alex Knight (The

End of Capitalism), Ted Trainer (The Simpler Way: working for transition from consumer

society to a simpler, more cooperative, just and ecologically sustainable society), David

Suzuki (The Legacy: An Elder's vision for a sustainable future), Rob Hopkins (The

Transition Handbook), Bernard Lietaer (The Future of Money), Thomas Greco (The End of

Money and the Future of Civilization), Bill Mollison ( ermaculture A Designer’s Manual),

David Holmgren (Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability); Tim

Jackson (Prosperity Without Growht) 52

Five steps to make timebanking work:

1. People list the skills and experience which they can offer and those that they may need.

2. Everyone‟s skills are valued equally - one hour always equals one time credit.

3. Everyone agrees to both give and to receive help, to earn and to spend their time credits.

4. A record is kept of all the time credits earned and spent, ideally on computer using the

„Time Online‟ system.

5. Everyone is encouraged to spend their time credits to allow others the chance to make a

difference and feel needed.

http://www.timebanking.org.uk/how_time_banking_works.asp Accessed 07 May 2011

29

developed capitalist countries, timebanking is not exactly new in the Philippines or in Bali,

Indonesia. The Philippine‟s indigenous tradition of bayanihan or bataris (or batarisan) or

Bali‟s tradition of narayan banjar (work for the common good of the community) may be

considered forms of timebanking.53

Many of Rizal‟s community projects must have been carried out through a system of

cooperative labor similar to Bali‟s narayan banjar. We could likewise imagine that the many

recipients of Rizal‟s services as a medical doctor, a secondary school teacher, a community

worker, and organizer/manager of his farm cooperative “paid” or reciprocated him by lending

their labor-time to his community projects, a form of timebanking. Thus, even with minimal

financial resources, the projects were realized by sheer community spirit.

And so, we are back full circle—from the boys of Himno a Talisay and the husbands and

wives and children of Himno al Trabajo to the Virgin of Junto al Pasig—the Virgin as

Mother Earth, as embodiment of a community of care and affection, of giving and sharing

and cooperation. Thus, we begin to see clearly that, ultimately, what will save us is our

relationship with each other.

Perhaps the future damnation that Satan conjured to Leonido will come to pass, and there will

be utter desolation and futile groaning and wailing and gnashing of teeth. But, who knows?

When the time comes, perhaps we will weather the tempest and ride the waves, as though the

Virgin were guiding us through our voyage in the stormy night! Perhaps we will be building

healthy and happy communities that will usher in a better world. And then we will remember

the dream that was Talisay.

END

Floro Quibuyen

Croydon, 24 July 2011

quibuyen01@yahoo.com

53

For a discussion of the Bali tradition of narayan banjar, see Bernard Lietaer and Stephen

DeMeulenaere, “Sustaining Cultural Vitality in a Globalizing World: The Balinese Example”

http://www.lietaer.com/images/ijse5_postscript.pdf