By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo

 

I MEANT to compose a poem for the West Philippine Sea for a week now, but the words refuse to come out. In times when the words freeze, I wait it out, until a voice gently rolls out an inspiration. The inspiration were photos of two good friends, Edicio de la Torre and Girlie Villariba, and posts from two of my favorite photographers Jojo Riñoza  and Nana Buxani. Some words have spilled out, but the rest are still brewing.

For some, poems do come by force of intellectual will, or propelled by the need to get published, especially now, with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). My intellect takes a backseat when writing poetry. Poems, for me, have their own will. Thirst, the last poem I wrote was dated April 25. Nothing came after that, even if I tried.

 

Thirst

Come, tell me about the storms
and the changing weather
tell me a story of raindrops
snatched by the heat
tell me why the heat
seized my tears
my heart cries
my eyes are dry
I thirst,
beam me, a raindrop

This poem is about the weather. It is about the scorching heat and the longing for rain. I wanted to write about the Urdujas, women who wield their swords and cut throats. On second thought, “Thirst” is a mirror of apathy in our response to the silent, creeping invasion of our country and our minds.

The issue of the West Philippine Sea is close to my heart. During a conference on 27 July 2015 organized by the Women in Development Foundation (WIDF), the International Visitor Leadership Program-Philippines (IVLP-Philippines) and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), Philippine national women resolved to craft the “WIH Conference Basement Declaration” which sought to launch a campaign to enjoin women to defend Philippine territories being occupied by China particularly Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal).

During this conference, the late Senator Leticia Ramos-Shahani urged women, especially people from Pangasinan, to defend its shores.  She said, it is incumbent for all Filipinos to do so. Participants to the conference agreed to hire several boats to sail towards Scarborough Shoal but plans didn’t push through due to the reluctance of government authorities who were supposed to escort the convoy. (To watch the speech, please click: https://youtu.be/2NFoodsYxno?si=uY1SXEcPZDYjYAOf )

That is why the efforts of ATIN TO inspires. They are doing what we intended to do nine years ago. They are pushing the limits to where, we could achieve a tipping point. Senator Shahani asks, “Akin, anggapo’y ibabaga tayo?” (“Why are we not saying anything?”). Why, indeed? By extension, I ask, “Anto’y gawaen tayo, Pangasinan?

It’s time to summon the Urduja inside all of us. It is time to build together the inner strength to look for that “urduja particle” that animates our love of country, protect our patrimony, strengthen our foreign policies, and act together. We cannot pursue grand development efforts without integrity. Development, eventually, must enrich the soul.

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