Ang Panatang Makabayan

July 2, 2022 Opinion

Each line of the “Panatang Makabayan” [The Philippine Patriotic Oath] rings true for many who are madly in love with this country.

“Iniibig ko ang Pilipinas Ito ang aking lupang sinilangan Ito ang tahanan ng aking lahi”.

These simply establish the love for country and pride of heritage that each Filipino has, making you recall your ancestors, dead family members and if you take it a notch higher, the heroes who albeit all dead, fought for what we enjoy today.

This make one proud to be a Filipino, but in reality our fellowmen bow their heads in submission to other nations as migrant workers, in the name of survival and the elusive, better life. Crazy love can’t get you very far.

“Ako ay kanyang kinukupkop at tinutulungan Upang maging malakas, maligaya at kapakipakinabang Bilang ganti, diringgin ko ang payo ng aking mga magulang”

The country wants us to be happy, but how can you be happy at this time? Jeeps are stopping operations before the phase – out because of the inhuman fuel prices, press freedom it’s at the crossroads, we are swimming in debt.

Empowering lines which detail how ones country can make you a useful human being that can also be of great use for the country, like a give and take kind of thing. But sadly in the present day, people ask what they can get out of this country rather than what you can do for it in the long run. Story of our lives really.

“Susundin ko ang mga tuntunin ng aking paaralan Tutuparin ko ang mga tungkulin ng isang mamamayang makabayan at masunurin sa batas”

This embodies what a law abiding citizen we all are expected to become. But, again, the blatant disregard for the law, its rules and the very moral fiber which binds us all, seems to get lost in translation. Most citizens are law abiding but the chosen few who are not just messes up everything that the “good ones” worked for. Making the bad apples in the bunch the only ones left.

“Paglilingkuran ko ang aking bayan nang walang pag-iimbot at nang buong katapatan Sisikapin kong maging isang tunay na Pilipino sa isip, sa salita, at sa gawa.”

These last two lines are the clincher, imagine serving your country with all your heart, your entire life. Hoping things will get better, fighting for a brighter future, aspiring for a just and even society and praying it will come true, against all odds, against all hope. The making of the Filipino lies in these lines, the creation of the ideal Pinoy, the ones that we need right now can be seen in the lines of the iconic the Philippine Patriotic Oath, the one we memorized as a child and the one that we know by heart.

The only difference now is that we have learned to read between the lines, we have been taught the best and as we age, we unlearn the good that was imparted and become a different version of what we aspired to be.

It’s like the comparison from expectation to reality. We were raised and expected to become great but in reality, all of us has been lost in translation.