COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS TO THE 1954 GRADUATING CLASS OF THE ATENEO DE TUGUEGARAO Rev.

Father Rector, Distinguished members of the Faculty, Hon. Gov. Carag, Dear Parents, Members of the Graduating Class, and Friends. It gives me singular pleasure to be introduced by Rev. Fr. Rector. For Rev. Fr. Rector has once been my teacher. And to be praised by ones own teacher is like being praised by ones own father. It gives me a feeling of deepest humility and of the most intense pride. Like all the parents with us here tonight, I cannot help but feel inspired by the look of accomplishment and optimism on the young faces of the members of the graduating class. But yours is a sober optimism. For you are Ateneans. And Ateneans are trained to look into the why and the wherefore of things. So that, although tonight you allow yourselves to be happy and jubilant, deep and varied questions surge upon your brain like, one might say, the waves of a troubled sea, upon the motionless shore. What shall I be? Shall I be a teacher? Shall I be an engineer, or a lawyer, or a priest, or a farmer, or a doctor? But no matter how many questions you and your friends may ask, there is only one question worth considering, only one question worth answering; and that is, what does God want me to be? In order to answer this questions properly, I think you should do at least two things. You should lift up your heart to God and you should open your eyes to see the world about you. The good Fathers of this school have taught you how to lift up your heart to God in a manner far beyond my powers to improve. But I shall attempt this afternoon to open your eyes to see to some extent the world about you. I therefore invite your now to lift your eyes and look beyond the paved streets of our towns and the fashionable suburbs of our cities. And among

the valleys and meadows, beside a hill or a river, or along the seashore, or at the edge of the forest, you will meet the man. The man is the subject of my speech. You know him. But I invite you to look at him more closely. Look at his feet. The toes of his feet do not taper like those of his brothers in the towns and cities. They spread out grotesquely like the gnarled roots of an old tree. For the have never felt the soft leather of Florsheim or Edwardson or Ang Tibay. They must find traction in the muddy and slippery barrio trails. Raise his pants a little. You will see varicose veins. Look at his skin. His skin is dark and coarse from constant exposure to the soaking rain and scorching sun. Observe his movements. They are sluggish with undernourishment. Follow him home, and you will find a nipa hut that leans on one side and shakes under your footsteps. And yet this man with the ugly feet and tumbling nipa hut is the backbone of our country. He produces the food without which you and I cannot live, without which you and I cannot do anything, without which the buildings in the towns and cities will not rise, without which the wheels of industry will not turn, the carriers of trade will not run, the pen of learning will not move without which life itself will not go on in this world. Aside from this, aside from the absolutely essential nature of his task, the farmer constitutes the vast majority of our people. Three out of four Filipinos are farmers. The farmer, therefore, is the base of our economic pyramid. He is the foundation of our social and political structure. He is the backbone of our country. So that, if the farmer is weak, the nation cannot be strong; if the farmer is sick, the nation cannot be healthy; if the farmer is ignorant, the nation cannot be informed; if the farmer is a slave, the nation cannot be free. My dear students, there is one thing which you, the youth of our land, must realize and never overlook; and that is the poverty of our country. It does not require an economic expert to see the shameful and monstrous economy of our country. We all know that we have an army, but it takes the Unites States of

America to supply this army with practically every gun, bullet and equipment that it needs. We have a navy, but everybody knows that we can neither build nor buy nor equip a single battleship. We boast of a government for all Asia to see. But our government offices are masterpieces of dilapidation and inefficiency. Our streets are so many jolting combinations of pavement and puddle, of mud and dust. And the millions of our countrymen live in grass houses scattered in the barrios of our country. Why is our country poor? We do not have to resort to complicated and highsounding analysis to find the answer. For the answer lies in the simple fact that the great masses of our people are poor. And the great masses of our people are poor because the farmer is poor. Because the farmer is poor, he cannot afford to pay more taxes. Therefore the government cannot raise sufficient revenues with which to finance his operations. Thus, the government is inefficient. Thus, the people lose confidence and respect for the government. Because the farmer is poor he cannot afford to buy things and commodities. Hence, private business and enterprise cannot prosper long. Hence, there is so much dependence on government for a means of livelihood and for acquiring wealth. Thus, government service becomes a business whereby the appointment-seeker and the election-candidate invest in bribery and votebuying; and upon assuming office, exploit the office to its full financial capacity. Thus, we have so much graft and corruption. Because the farmer is poor, few people actually want to be farmers. For who wants to be poor? So, people leave the farms. They flock to the cities. There is over-crowding. There is unemployment. There is crime. There is dissidence.

Thus, we see that practically every problem of our country may be traced to the poverty of the farmer. Why is the farmer poor? People say that the farmer is stupid and lazy. My friends, the farmer is not stupid. He is as intelligent as you and I. The farmer is not lazy. He is as industrious as you and I. There is only one reason for his poverty; and that is, he has never been given a fighting chance. They who ran the affairs of the state and those who wielded influence in the country have completely ignored the primary importance of the farmer, the barrio, where he lives and those who loved in the towns and cities, while the barrios were left to their ancient ways and methods of work and life. So that, while our city buildings are now provided with such modern facilities as elevators and air-conditions and our city streets are now paves with the latest models of road-paving machines, and our movie houses are now showing 3Dimensional films, and our calesas have been replaced by busses and skymasters, the barrio farmers are practically in the same conditions as when Magellan fist saw the islands in 1521 are still in the condition of the nipa hut, the carabao and the wooden plow. And all these, in spite of the fact that the barrio farmer is the very foundation of our national economy. In fact, the farmer has been the pitiful victim of discrimination and even of oppression. For as long as we can remember there has been a shortage of rice in this country. And yet as early 1936, it has been the policy of our government to guard against overproduction. This policy is still maintained in Republic Act No. 663, the Organic Act of the NARIC. So that, the rice farmer may be likened to a hungry man. And our government constantly advises this hungry man against overeating. On the other hand, efforts have constantly been exerted to lower the price of rice principally by importation and price control. But not a single effective measure

has been undertaken to lower the cost of production or to increase production at the same cost. Meanwhile, the members of the farmers family have increased, while the produce from his farm has remained the same if it has not become less. So we see that the nation has been a pyramid that has weakened its own base, a structure that has undermined its own foundation, a body that has jellified its own backbone. The nation has been enjoying a ride in an upholstered calesa at the expense of that skinny and panting horse we call the farmer. And it was at this juncture that the terrible monster of Communism appeared in our country. The monster of Communism is evil and ugly. But it has the intelligence to realize that the surest way to conquer the people is to conquer first the peasant. And so, the monster went about barefoot with the farmers, played cockfight with them, chewed betel nuts with them, told them that the landlords wealth belonged to them, that the governments power was theirs, and he spat red on the ground with them while we lovers of freedom threw beer bottles at each other in Congress and we Catholics held meetings in the conventos and prayed long novenas in the afternoon. And so we were surprised to realize suddenly that he had become the farmer's hero. He became strong and soon he started to ambush citizens on the highways, to slaughter soldiers in army camps, to burn and plunder the towns and to shake our freedom down to its very foundation. We who profess to be lovers of Christianity and democracy have entirely overlooked the importance of organizing the farmers in order to preserve that Christianity and that democracy. We speak of a champion in time of oppression and the communists became the champions of the peasants only because the peasants were victims of oppression. The primary importance of the peasants has been disregarded by the men in power and the rights of the farmer were

violated by their fellowmen. It was this oppression which the communists took advantage of in order to emerge as the champions of the farming masses. If we are to fight communism successfully, we must show in deed as well as in word that we ourselves are the real champions of the farmers of our country. And one reason why the farmers of our country have been oppressed and pushed around by their countrymen is the fact that the farmers have never been organized. If we are to be champions of the farming masses, therefore, we must help them organize themselves into a single body, strong enough to assert the importance, which they deserve, and to vindicate their rights, which have so often been violated in the past. And if we have been so neglectful and careless in the past, there is no more opportune time to make up for our neglect and mistaken than the present. For today, the monster that sought to snatch away our heritage of Christianity and democracy has been beaten and forced to retire and lick his wounds in the jungle. The mind of the farmer now lies smoldering in disillusionment. But his spirit has not been broken. He looks around for a new hope, a new leadership. And herein lies a new opportunity for us. Sometime in September of last year, several farmer leaders from Central Luzon came to my office asking me to lead them. To me, their words hurled a challenge to a Catholic leadership. And I accepted the challenge. But I realized that the challenge was not for one man alone. And so I looked for other young Catholic leaders. And to be expected, young Catholics were not wanting to answer the call. At the same time, we asked Rev. Fr. Pacifico Ortiz, a Jesuit to advise and help us. One October 25, 1953, we formally inducted our officers and proclaimed the first Manifesto of the Federation of Free Farmers. In the Manifesto, we set down the aims and principles of the Federation. In it we declare the primary importance

of the farmer in the nation and the need of organization in order to assert that importance not only for the sake of the farmer but also for the sake of the nation itself. In the Manifesto, we promise to defend the farmer against oppression and injustice but we remind him that his paramount end is to be happy with God in Heaven. We counsel him, therefore, to think more of the kindness of those who love him rather than brood over the oppression of those who hate him, to promote cooperation rather than conflict, harmony rather than discord, love rather than hate, to consider no one as an enemy but to look upon every man as a brother redeemed by the blood of a common Savior, confronted by common problems and faced with a common task of making this earth a happy and prosperous place to live in. These are the principles enunciated in the Manifesto, which have been translated into different dialects of the Philippines. Wonderful to relate, these Christian principles embodied in our Manifesto have taken the farmers of Central Luzon by storm. The Manifesto has become very popular even in the very hotbeds of dissidence. It has captured the imagination of the people in the barrios from the most languid tenant to the most fiery Huk commander. This is a very significant fact, for it shows that the toiling masses of our country have not lost their natural love for the Christian way of life, for brotherhood, contentment and peace. This movement has numerous phases and diverse problems. It needs the help of all people, of people even as young as you are. There is need of lawyers to defend the farmers in their tenancy cases. There is need of statisticians and researchers to help canvass the needs of farmers and draw up plans to solve their problems. There is need of writers, editors, and producers to draw public attention to the problems of the farmer through the newspaper, the radio, the town hall and even the movie. There is a need of scholars on sociology ready to define the Catholic stand on every question regarding the economic and social life of the farmer. We need technical men, in various fields such as fish culture,

pottery and weaving. are still in school.

There is need of organizers, typists, filing clerks, and

contact men. Many of these needs can be filled by boys like you, even when you

I would like to dwell at some length on the spiritual significance of this project. And I shall begin by making a couple of observations on the way in which Catholic Action is being conducted in the Philippines today. The first is that Catholic Action has not been aiming at the most important target. And the second is that Catholic Action has not been using adequate weapons. Catholic Action in the Philippines today has been aiming at the people in the city and in the Poblacion. These constitute an infinitesimal portion of our population. And they have relatively the least need of the benefits of which our Catholic Action actually gives. But the vast majority of our people live in the barrios and they are the ones most in need of Catholic instructions and guidance. The weapons usually employed by Catholic Action are such things as processions, rallies, protests, novenas and other forms of devotion. These are good methods. In fact without them we cannot have a full Catholic life. But of themselves alone they cannot quite sufficiently infuse the Catholic way of life in a practical manner because they cannot cope with the pressing and vital problems of the great masses of our people. The vital and pressing problems of the great masses of our people are those of hunger, nakedness, and insecurity. In order to introduce the catholic way of life in a practical manner, Catholic Action must permeate the lives of the masses in the very process of solving these vital pressing problems much in the same way as Christ converted men by first curing them of leprosy and blindness and then saying: Go an sin not more. We cannot just tell a hungry man to pray the Rosary and be pious thereafter. We must first help him raise sufficient food

and income for himself and his family, and then tell him to bend his knees in thanksgiving for Gods bounty. In this way, religion will have a touch of reality and prayer, of practicality. For certainly, it is the will of God that men on this earth should eat well and love well so that they could serve him well. Let me illustrate this by another analogy. When a young man falls in love, he does not fall in love with a lovely spirit. But what attracts him first is the raven hair or the bright eyes or the bewitching smile. But this love would not be worthy of a man if he does not develop itself into love and devotion, if it does not develop itself in to self-denying, death dying sacrifice. In much the same way, we shall teach the masses the mysteries of the Sacred Host nut we must first begin with a grain of rice. We shall teach them the lessons of the Cross. But we must first begin with the plow. My dear students, as I pose this challenge to you I would like to summarize my message to your tonight with one word. That word is love. My message to you is a message of love. For the most important things in this world is neither wealth nor power nor pleasure. It is love. Love is what this bleeding, hungry, weeping and trembling world need today. But I do not refer to the love that depends on moonlight and soft music. I refer to the love that lives in adversity and shines in sacrifice. I refer to the love that inspired the good Fathers of this school to leave their homes and devote the best years of their lives to the education of young men like you. It is the love that came into this world in swaddling clothes and left hanging upon a cross. It is the love that enables one to understand that the best way to enjoy this live is to give it away. In the spirit of Christian love, I would like to invite you once more to look at the man with the spreading toes and varicose veins, who loves in a shaking nipa hut. In the spirit of Christian love, look into his eyes that shine with sincerity and goodwill. Look into his face that beams with simplicity. Beneath his showing ribs beats a heard just as human as yours and mine. If you win his

heart you will look for no greater wealth, no greater power, no greater joy. For this heart knows gratitude and devotion. Just recently, it poured its blood and laid down its life for its friends, although unworthy friends, on the plains of Central Luzon. More willingly would it lay down its life for you if you give it the real truth, the real good, the real love. Ateneans are known for many things. But the most distinctive mark of the Atenean is that in deed as well as in word he shows himself an Apostle of Christ. An Apostle of Christ follows Christ. And when Christ came down to earth, the first people he took into His company, unto His confidence and unit His friendship were poor people, people who had no shoes to adorn their feet, people who lived by farming and fishing and by tending their flock people like the farmers and the barrio people of the Philippines. You must have noticed from the program that I am named after that great and melancholic prophet Jeremiah. Tonight, then, I shall make a prophecy. Many years from now you will have your last graduation day. On that last graduation day each and every one of you shall receive first honors. Yours Blessed Mother will be there. And the Divine Rector will call each and everyone of you and will say, Come, take possession of the Kingdom which has been prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you brought me home, naked and you clothed me, sick and you cared for me, imprisoned and you came to me Whereupon you will answer, Lord when was it that we saw Thee hungry and fed Thee, or thirsty and gave Thee drink? When was it we saw Thee a stranger and brought Thee home, or naked and clothed Thee? When was it that we saw Thee sick and imprisoned and came to Thee? And He will answer, Amen, Amen I say to you, when you did it to the man with the spreading toes and varicose veins, when you did it to his pale faced wife, when you did it to his half-naked, big-bellied, barefooted children playing in the mud under the tumbling nipa hut, you did it to me.