AFTER celebrating Philippine Independence Day on June 12, comes Independence Day of our adoptive country.

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1 AFTER celebrating Philippine Independence Day on June 12, comes Independence Day of our adoptive country. Many of us who have worked hard in this country the last 20 or 30 years have enjoyed the bounty and beauty and blessings of this nation. Independence Day is a day to reflect on our gain, contribution and gratefulness. Perhaps, one way to do those is to read a poem titled America in its original version in 1893, which, later on was edited, and became the American patriotic song, America the Beautiful. Katharine Lee Bates wrote the lyrics, and the music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward. (From Wikipedia-Original poem (1893) 1 / 6

2 America. A Poem for July 4. O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties Above the enameled plain! God shed His grace on thee, Till souls wax fair as earth and air And music-hearted sea! O beautiful for pilgrim feet Whose stern, impassioned stress A thoroughfare for freedom beat Across the wilderness! God shed His grace on thee Till paths be wrought through wilds of thought By pilgrim foot and knee! O beautiful for glory-tale Of liberating strife, When once or twice, for man s avail, Men lavished precious life! God shed His grace on thee Till selfish gain no longer stain, The banner of the free! O beautiful for patriot dream That sees beyond the years Thine alabaster cities gleam Undimmed by human tears! God shed His grace on thee Till nobler men keep once again Thy whiter jubilee! Happy Independence Day, USA! *** 2 / 6

3 Independence Day is also an occasion to remember heroes. Heroes who offered their lives selflessly to gain freedom, independence and dignity for their respective countries. In our native Philippines, it is a big shame that much are still to be desired after over a hundred years of independence. There is an utter need for a dignified corps of public servants. Three incumbent senators and many more are facing plunder and/or graft and corruption charges for stealing the people s monies. Two senators are in jail and one faces arrest as they wait for their arraignment for charge of plundering the monies supposedly intended for projects for the improvement of people s lives. Instead, they re charged of pocketing the monies. *** Plunder & corruption in Manila On June 30, according to a Facebook post by my consistent FB friend Princess Santiago, was Feast Day of the First Martyrs of Holy Roman Church. According to Princess post, The holy men and women are also called the 'Protomartyrs of Rome. They were accused of burning Rome by Nero, who burned Rome to cover his own crimes. Some martyrs were burned as living torches at evening banquets, some crucified, and 3 / 6

4 others were fed to wild animals. Those facing plunder and corruption charges in Manila are no martyrs. But, a couple are trying to make martyrs of themselves. I wonder how they would be punished if proven guilty? By making them living torches in parties? Or by crucifying them? Or by feeding them to wild animals? *** Consul Carino and the Martires case We are compelled to criticize a consul at the Philippine Consulate in New York regarding his handling of the Robert Martires case. On the basis of a personal opinion expressed by a New York City police officer, Consul Felipe Carino gave a conclusive remark to the Filipino-American press and the Filipino community that the killing of Robert Martires was not a hate crime and that the question by the attacker to Martires whether the latter was a Filipino did not take place despite a witness who claimed he heard it asked before the punching. 4 / 6

5 The statement was made despite the consul s awareness that the investigation was in its early stages. Did you read what an NYPD police officer actually told a New York Daily News reporter? NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce was quoted in the Daily News report to have said, It looks like it s revelry after the World Cup. Apparently, the basis of Mr. Boyce s opinion was the World Cup game that took place before the punching of Martires. By the way, in one of the reports, it was believed that the killer was a homeless man. (If indeed homeless, I wonder where he watched the game, if he ever did.) My own opinion on the opinion of Detective Chief Boyce is that he said what he said in order to calm down the big Filipino community, especially in Queens. To keep the peace in his territorial jurisdiction? Consul Carino should not have adopted the opinion of the police officer considering the investigation was still going on. Instead, he should have spoken to protect the interest of the Filipinos by being honest. 5 / 6

6 That there was no conclusive findings yet. And, meanwhile, like what Edwin Josue said wisely in Facebook, Filipinos should be vigilant. The Martires punching was not the first attack incident against a Filipino in New York this year. Remember the case of Randy Gener last January? The Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. did the right thing by calling on the NYPD to find the killer of Martires without issuing a similar not well thought of statement given by Consul Carino in New York. Our reminder to those who stay out in the city after midnight is to be always on the defensive. This was the advice given by a New York City detective to a Filipino mugging victim in 42nd Street in Manhattan some years ago. mcaball241@aol.com 6 / 6