'And with words a nation was born'

IN my Oct. 10, 2023 column, I talked about my dream to have a hall in the Philippines similar to the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom at the United States National Archives in Washington, D.C., where the original founding documents of the US — the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights — are enshrined for people to visit. It reminds Americans that their country was built on the principles of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" and the belief that "all men are created equal."

Just imagine if our kids could visit the actual manuscripts of the "Noli Me Tangere," "El Filibusterismo" and the "Mi Ultimo Adios" of Jose Rizal and see it side by side with the June 12, 1898 Declaration of Independence signed by 98 people. That experience would be electric.