Where have all our heroes gone?

THE period of colonization of the Philippines — by the Spaniards for more than 377 years, the Americans for 48 years and the Japanese for three years — provided the opportunity for ordinary men and women to rise to greatness. While each of them had different circumstances in life, they were endowed with many different attributes that catapulted them to heroism. The two traits they had in common? Sense of sacrifice and selfless love of country.

It took tyranny and the oppression of fellow Filipinos for Jose Rizal, a martyr and national hero with affluence and a world-class education; the "Great Plebeian" Andres Bonifacio; and the "Sublime Paralytic" Apolinario Mabini to sacrifice economically promising pursuits and fight for freedom, equality and independence. Teresa Magbanua, the Filipino "Joan of Arc," left the comforts of her home and the safety of her classrooms to lead successful pockets of rebellion against the Spaniards and Americans in the Visayas. The Philippines' "Florence Nightingale," Melchora Aquino, while deprived of formal education, was 82 years old when she converted her store into a makeshift hospital and clandestinely treated sick and wounded members of the Katipunan. The list of Filipino heroes and heroines is long.