ONE - A Filipino Movement

GLIMPSES
Jose Ma. Montelibano

It is public knowledge, internally, that Filipinos are burdened by a curse called divisiveness. This destructive pattern is not the exclusive domain of Filipinos in the Philippines but is like a virus that travels where Filipinos travel. It is very much alive among Filipinos in North America if we look at the number of Filipino associations, around 200 in San Diego alone.

I am now on my second week in San Diego, primarily to support a new and determined effort to promote solidarity among Filipinos in North America. Although I am not a Fil-Am, many among those who help my prime advocacy, Gawad Kalinga are from San Diego. It was more than a pleasant surprise when a few GK advocates from San Diego led by Tony Olaes, a successful second generation Fil-Am, began a renewed effort towards solidarity among Filipinos in North America.

I have been monitoring email correspondence of several egroups in the last twelve years. With great consistency, more and more Filipinos in America write about their deep desire to help the homeland, to strip it of its corrupt image and behavior, to take the poor out of their historical poverty. A common sentiment can be a common cause, and there are common sentiments that can be firm bases to become common causes. Yet, the pattern of divisiveness is embedded too deeply and has created so many wounds that common sentiments and causes have not yet triggered a visible move towards unity.

Why would a young businessman and others like him take on such a Quixotic quest when all others before them failed? When I asked him, Tony Olaes said because he longs for that solidarity, he believes it is time, and he knows that with just a few committed patriots committed to spend their own money like him could drive the movement without being dependent on solicited funds. If I had not been aware of what Olaes has been doing for Gawad Kalinga and the village he is building in the memory of his grandparents in Cavite, I would be skeptical even though I, too, believe that the moment is quickly ripening.

To walk his talk, Olaes mounted a soft launch of the movement for Filipino solidarity in America last Saturday, May 24. Calling it ONE - A Filipino Celebration, Olaes chose KIimball Park in National City as the venue of the launch. Together with Robert Sanchez, another successful second generation Fil-Am generation, the operational support of Seafood City and the multilevel marketing group of the health drink, Mona-Vie, Olaes staged a whole day fiesta at Kimball Park with end-to-end entertainment by performers of Filipino descent.

The ONE movement that Olaes and friends want to promote begins with reaching out to kindred spirits among other successful Filipinos from North America. Some Fil-Ams from other states are already on board to be the strategic players in key regions. Tony Olaes does not want to form an organization and prefers a movement which will draw life from its core group and the cooperation of Filipinos and Filipino organizations across America. After all, he does not envision competing associations submitting themselves to an umbrella organization, nor does he feel that it is necessary. Apparently, he believes that unity is possible in diversity for as long as they can adopt common causes.

With the history of divisiveness of Filipinos, it seems impossible that a centuries-old behavioral pattern can be dismantled by the vision and nobility of a few Filipinos in America, no matter how wealthy and strategic they may be. However, the work of Gawad Kalinga is being supported by even competing organizations or corporations. Recognizing the capacity of Gawad Kalinga as a convergence zone, Olaes and friends believe that it serves a template for unity. ONE, then, is being formulated to be grounded on the same principles and values as Gawad Kalinga.

It is impossible to build a nation we can all be proud of if poverty and corruption continue to define Philippine society and governance. It is impossible to dismantle poverty and corruption if the pattern of divisiveness overrides the need for change and honor. But if the solidarity we seek has not been an impossible dream, then we would not be poor or corrupt. Thousands of well-meaning patriots have tried over several decades to bring a divided people together, and many of them gave up their lives to do so. I would think it remains impossible if I have not been aware that Filipinos abroad are shedding their apathy and now expressing a more intense desire to help those who are left behind.

Are Filipinos ready to move towards common causes and take common actions? It does not appear so in the Philippines, even at times when the worst of issues are presented to the public. Somehow, the reaction to poverty and corruption is weak and glaringly inadequate considering the need. Filipinos in the home land continue to be submissive, and only a looming food shortage - whether from supply or the inability to pay higher prices - can conceivably cause a political stir.

In the United States, however, I am convinced that Filipinos are nearing the point of intolerance against poverty and corruption. The young especially are manifesting their desire to visit a home land they never felt anything for before. That is a sure sign that things will change, and change dramatically.

Perhaps, ONE is such a manifestation of the resolve of second, and third, generations of Fil-Ams to participate in building a brighter future for the home land. They may be in search of a collective honor, or they may truly be repulsed by the poverty of their own countrymen. Whatever it is, I am hopeful that the first rays of a new day are penetrating the darkness,and that a new age for the Philippines is about to arise.