Kawit, Cavite (CNN Philippines) — Modern life moves at a very fast pace: Our social media feeds display the latest content; gadgets released today become outdated a year later.
It can be quite difficult to look back to the past when all we’re thinking about is the future.
But that’s not the case for sisters Jessamine and Jacqueline del Rosario — two millennials who have journeyed back to colonial times by volunteering as guides in the Emilio Aguinaldo Museum at his shrine in Kawit, Cavite.
They’re from different courses and from different colleges. Jessamine is a business management major at Cavite State University. Jacqueline studies pharmacy at the Emilio Aguinaldo College.
But both share a strong pride in Philippine history — and it’s pride that they want to share with the museum’s visitors.
As Caviteños, Jessamine and Jacqueline have been to the shrine dozens of time since childhood. However, they say that they’re still learning new things about Emilio Aguinaldo and the Katipunan.
“Iyong mga nalalaman ko, kung baga dati sabi-sabi lang… ngayon sure na ako sa mga sinasabi ko sa mga information [tungkol kay Aguinaldo],” Jacqueline said in an interview with CNN Philippines.
[Translation: “Before, everything I knew was through word of mouth. Now, I’m confident with the information I share about Emilio Aguinaldo.”]
The sisters believe that freedom is earned, not given.
“Yung mga pinagdaanan ng mga Pilipino noong panahong sinakop sila ng mga dayuhan, nalaman nila sa sarili nila na kaya pala nila makipaglaban… Lahi po natin iyon,” Jessamine said.
[Translation: “After all the trials that Filipinos bared with in colonial times, they learned that they could fight… It’s in our blood.”]
And it’s a fight that continues up to this day, not with guns and swords, but with hearts and minds. Jacqueline sees colonial mentality as a threat to the Filipino identity: “Nakalaya tayo pero parang mas pabor pa rin tayo sa [mga bagay na galing sa ibang bansa].”
[Translation: “We may have independence now, but it seems that we still prefer goods from abroad.”]
She believes that Philippine economy should be buoyed by Philippine companies. “Bansa natin ‘to, dapat tayo yung may-ari ng mga companies.”
[Translation: “It’s our country. We should be the ones to own companies.”]
For her part, Jessamine’s experience has believes that Filipinos shouldn’t be passive with society’s problems. She pointed that the revolutionaries did not wait for independence; they seized it.
“Nag-iinitiate sila kasama yung mga iba pang Katipunero at mga iba pang rebolusyonaryo… Nagtutulungan sila para [matalo] ang mga ibang lahing gustong sumakop sa atin.”
“Kailanagan magtulungan yung mga Pilipino para umunlad ang bansa natin.”
[Translation: ” They initiated the revolution… They helped each other out to defeat their colonial masters. Filipinos need to help each other out so that the country can succeed.”]
