F. Sionil Jose: Build Pangasinan character
THROUGH CULTURE, LITERATURE AND THE ARTS
LINGAYEN—Still dynamic at 87, the “grand old man” of Philippine literature Francisco Sionil Jose said culture, literature and the arts are crucial in building the strength and character of the people as a province and as a nation.
Speaking during the 432nd Pangasinan foundation day last April 11, F. Sionil Jose, a national artist in literature and an ASNA Balitok awardee, said the “greatest threat to the nation is our own national insecurity in our capacity and strength as a people”.
He maintained that it is not the New People’s Army (NPA) nor the Muslim secessionist group and the Abu Sayyaf, he said, that is jeopardizing the nation’s growth but the “lack of confidence on how we develop our internal strength.”
“Here,” he continued, “is where culture, literature and the arts come in as they build the strength and character of the people, allowing them develop greater self-confidence to aspire and achieve some more.”
“We can not blame the past where the oligarchies who ruled had oppressed and exploited us but only blame ourselves for we did not have the moral courage to stand up to our oppressors,” said Sionil Jose, a native of Rosales town, who has also been honored with the Ramon Magsaysay Award, considered as the Pulitzer Prize of Asia, for his body of literary works.
LANGUAGE
Sionil Jose lauded the efforts of Gov. Amado Espino Jr. to promote Pangasinan as the nation’s number province in all aspects, including cultural revival, particularly in the preservation of the Pangasinan language.
“Language is the soul of the people, the hearts and minds of the people,” said Sionil Jose, whose writings include the Rosales Saga, a series of novels depicting the Filipino struggle against the country’s colonizers.
Under Espino, the Pangasinan language orthography, the first in the country, was drawn up by the province’s scholars and has been endorsed and adopted by the Komisyon ng Wikang Pilipino.
This is a concrete step, Sionil Jose said, to ensure that the Pangasinan language will live on for another 300 years.
He also lauded plan to make the new history book written by the Pangasinan Historical and Cultural Commission headed by Atty. Gonzalo T. Duque, be adopted as part of the basic education curriculum in the province.
Sionil Jose said there is no nation that can grow and prosper “without knowing its identity, without being proud of it, without using it for its own benefit”.
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