Heneral Luna thoughts: We love the Philippines but not equally

“Ingles-inglesin mo ko sa bayan ko?! Punyeta!” - Heneral Luna, Movie

I just watched the movie and it was awesome!! Fine, but certainly times have changed and somewhat different since then. English is now a global language at huwag kang gamol dahil ang Pilipinas ay hindi lang puro tagalog; to this day we have 160+/- spoken language across the 7100+ islands Punyeta!!

The Filipino of today I'd argue are more aware, informed individually and socially but it is still not enough as the issues raised by the Movie Heneral Luna still hold true even today. But I believe watching the movie makes things a bit clear in the sense that we now know who not to vote come 2016 elections. At least for me!

“Para kayong mga birhen na naniniwala sa pag-ibig ng isang puta.” a.k.a. self interests and "balimbing"

This movie made me hate Aguinaldo even more and the balimbings he surrounded himself with (although not all). You could say he was our first dictator since heck, no one voted for him but instead was agreed by a handful to be "El Presidente." Punyeta!

Although the movie was a mix of fiction and facts, one cannot deny and relate to the "siesta" attitude of Filipinos and for it to be portrayed in the movie (SPOILERS SLIGHT) that one general attending a fiesta in times of war was really pissing me off. It's like our government officials taking a lunch break despite a sign of "no lunch break" or National Officials attending some turn over n another place while leaving their primary job because it's "election season." Punyeta TALAGA!

“Ganito ba talaga ang tadhana natin? Kalaban ng kalaban. Kalaban ng kakampi. Nakakapagod.”

I feel like cursing, so P*****a! I'd say this still is somewhat true today. In-fighting, regionalistic tendencies has limited or held back our growth and development as a country. Yes we have strong family values, we can die for our family but not for our country? Truly, just like what Luna emphasizes in the film, the Filipinos’ greatest foe is ourselves.

From Humabon siding with Magellan to fight Lapu-Lapu here in Cebu; Antonio Luna, Bonifacio, and Aquino were all killed by an unidentified mastermind but without question at the hands of their own kind. Same with Leon Kilat, Gregorio del Pilar, Diego Silang, Macario Sakay, and perhaps more!

Aguinaldo was of course captured due to a tip from a Filipino (take that b**ch) although he himself allegedly became one of the first Japanese collaborators (!@#$%^&*).

Yes, our historical figures/heroes are human. Though this must not stop us from pursuing the ideal, our hopes, goals and dreams for this country. We can't change the past but learn from it to create our future!

Antonio Luna (Antonio Luna de San Pedro y Novicio Ancheta) the Bad-ass: Like Rizal, you could say he was a Polymath (google it! :D)

• Scientist - he studied literature and chemistry in the University of Sto. Tomas and a license & a doctorate in pharmacy at the Universidad de Barcelona and Universidad Central de Madrid respectively.
• Writer - he wrote under the pen name Taga-ilog which he used to publish his articles in La Solidaridad
• Artist - gifted with so many talents particularly in arts and music. In fact, he was an excellent guitar player during his younger days.
• Educator - not in the traditional sense, he helped establish the first military academy for Filipinos for his desire to have a professional army of the Philippines (as shown in the movie as well). A precursor to today’s Philippine Military Academy, the Academia Militar was Luna’s brainchild.
• Tactician - studied the art of war under General Gerard Leman who had a major role in WW1. He created the Luna Line which was admired by the Americans and proposed a mountain fortress for Guerilla Warfare.
• Fighter - was a marksman and student of martial arts, having practiced the art of arnis, fencing, and shooting. 

and it took more than 5 Filipino cowards and traitors who inflicted 40 bullet and stab wounds to put him down. Disgusting, PUNYETA!

Lastly, even his enemies admired him!

"the ablest and most aggressive leader of the Filipino Republic.” - General Frederick Funston

“was the only general the Filipino army had.” - General James Franklin Bell

"The Filipinos only had one general, and they have killed him.” - General Hughes

Aguinaldo et al? never mind.. I recommend additional reading to the following articles/blogs:
8 Dark Chapters of Filipino-American History We Rarely Talk About
SA NGALAN NG BAYAN AT BIGOTE: 10 Long Reasons why you should watch “Heneral Luna”
7 Un-Heroic Deeds Of Emilio Aguinaldo
10 Most Infamous Traitors in Philippine History
7 Fascinating Facts You Didn’t Know About Andres Bonifacio

Carry on with our dreams together with the Philippines!