on how small bigness is for Filipinos :- )

When I was in my early 20s, I was given the privilege to perform a role of an Area Manager for a network of computer schools.

This role had given me the chance to go around the Philippines for free. And see her with my very eyes and not only as a tourist but as a Filipino.

My job entailed that I understand the economic system of a particular place. How the place supports the life of people and what do people do to support their lives. I had to understand how money flows, test the sustainability of its flow and make a call if it will improve.

Had to do this because we were task to put up branches all over the Philippines :)

And in these travels, Philippines introduced herself to me. I saw how beautiful she is. How inequitable wealth is spread across her lands. That the farther one is from the city, education gets diluted. I realize that taxis only exist in Baguio, Iloilo, Cebu, Davao and Cagayan de Oro. The rest, tricycle is the choice of transportation for short distances. I hope, by now, it changed already :)

And from these travels I realize how weird it is to see a giant statue of Lapu-Lapu in Luneta :)

Serious. It is weird. Peculiar. Actually, for me, it is actually a loud, never ceasing and screaming statement of sorts.

You see, across the Philippines we have erected statues of our heroes. That's nothing new but it usually not in the scale and in the imposition of that Lapu-Lapu giant. Our heroes are physically depicted in statues as life size or a bit bigger than life size. But not done in gigantic scale like Luneta's Lapu-Lapu. Come to think of it, Rizal's monument on the other side is dwarfed by this:)

What makes this even interesting is, what made a Filipino create such a huge statue when in the past he never did?

So, I drew closer to find out : )

Lo and behold, it's confirmed! The Filipinos still does not do gigantic statues. Lapu-Lapu's statue was commissioned and given to us by our South Korean brothers:)

Which, to me, makes it even more interesting:) Why would our South Korean brothers give us such a monument and why in that scale?

What are they trying to say to us?

Are they trying to wake us up and so that we can see who truly we are? That this smallness we carry, this misplaced inferiority we have towards foreigners, is actually a malaise we carry in our hearts and minds? A malaise imposed upon us by our colonizers?

Are they saying that we have to go further than the history of indio bravos to know and understand who we are? Truly? Further to the time of Lapu-Lapu?

Are they reminding us that the true Filipinos had this identity, this life worth killing for? Fighting for? That we have a past? A proud one at that. That we have a heritage?

I can only ask. Get curious. But it is enough :)

That giant Lapu-Lapu is enough for me not to settle and to accept the imposed smallness to my soul:)

"... why think like mere men?"