BETTER DAYS
Every year in August we observe the Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa or National Language Month. By virtue of Proklamasyon Blg. 1041, s. 1997 issued by the late former President Fidel Ramos, the nationwide observation of the Buwan ng Wika recognizes the linguistic diversity of the Philippines and the importance of preserving these as part of our culture. For this year, the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino has chosen the theme: “Filipino at Mga Katutubong Wika: Wika ng Kapayapaan, Seguridad at Ingkusibong Pagpapatupad ng Katarungang Panlipunan.”
The decision to observe the Buwan ng Wika in August was in recognition of the legacy of our former President Manuel Luis Quezon, who was born on Aug. 19, 1878 in Baler, and is known as our “Ama ng Wikang Pambansa.” It was not only by establishing a national language that President Quezon espoused nationalism. He also saw the importance of cultivating and promoting Philippine-made products as an important component of the development of strong and progressive nations.
On Aug. 12, 1936, he issued Proclamation No. 76, s. 1936 declaring the week from Aug. 17 to 23 as Made in the Philippines Products Week. Examining the Quezon issuance, it gave us a glimpse into the exceptional mind of one of country’s greatest leaders and how he recognized early on the critical role of developing a Philippine brand in order for us to join the ranks of the world’s most vibrant economies.
In the Proclamation, Quezon emphasized that “The people of the Philippine Islands would do well to cultivate and develop this same spirit of economic nationalism among themselves for their own welfare and benefit and for the greater progress and development of this Archipelago. The expansion and great development of local industries will bring more wealth, prosperity, and happiness to all the people living in these Islands.”
“The Philippines is richly endowed with the precious gifts of nature. We have here an abundance of the basic materials of industry. To a certain extent we have begun to avail ourselves of these natural facilities and advantages for industrial growth, but our local industries are still comparatively few and relatively undeveloped. Most of them remain in their earlier stages of growth. In the meantime, many of our domestic needs that could be fully supplied with local products have to be provided for with considerable importations of foreign articles. In order to give the necessary encouragement and stimulus to domestic industries, the people of this country should patronize Philippine products.”
These ideas still hold true to this day. While we have come a long way in developing our local industries, there is still so much untapped potential and there is plenty of room for growth. It is this objective of making the Philippines a strong, vibrant and prosperous nation that motivates us in working and pushing for our Tatak Pinoy or Proudly Pinoy strategy. We came up with Tatak Pinoy in 2019 after studying what the other nations are producing and how this translates to the strength of their economies. The data is contained in the Atlas of Economic Complexity of Dr. Ricardo Hausmann of Harvard University and Cesar Hidalgo of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which states that a country becomes prosperous when it is able to produce and trade a diverse array of complex and uncommon products and services.
Tatak Pinoy seeks to achieve a degree of economic complexity so that we can have better jobs, higher incomes and standards of living in the country. This idea, this advocacy is starting to take shape and is now a bill — Senate Bill 2218 or our proposed Tatak Pinoy Act. As Chairman of the Committee on Finance, we have conducted seven hearings on the measure and soon we will start preparing the committee report. We are particularly optimistic about the chances of the Tatak Pinoy bill eventually becoming a law now that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has made it part of his list of priority measures for the legislature.
The realization of Quezon’s vision for the Philippines is long overdue but we are getting there. We now have the attention of the entire government and with the inputs being provided by the private sector about their experiences, the roadblocks that they face, their road to success, they are gradually becoming aware of what needs to be done to help our industries in reaching their full potential and making their mark in the world. (Email: [email protected]| Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @sonnyangara)
(Senator Sonny Angara has been in public service for 18 years — nine years as Representative of the lone district of Aurora, and nine as Senator. He has authored, co-authored, and sponsored more than 330 laws. He is currently serving his second term in the Senate.)