By Antonio C. Abaya

May 29, 2003

The recent publication by Anvil of the Philippine edition of Benedict Anderson’s “Imagined Communities” occasioned a thoughtful piece by Columnist Raul Rodrigo in Today (May 20) and a personal reminiscence from Columnist Patricio Abinales in the Philippines Free Press (May 17).

I had previously heard of the book but never got around to reading it; I must do so now that it is available at a reader-friendly price. In the meantime, let me comment on Raul’s quote of what must be the essence of Anderson’s thesis: “(The nation) is imagined as a community, because, regardless of the actual inequality and exploitation that may prevail in each, the nation is always conceived as a deep, horizontal comradeship.”

Raul is correct this “deep, horizontal comradeship” has continued to elude us Filipinos. Writes Raul: “Whatever national comradeship we feel is neither deep nor horizontal…”

More Trivia

Filipino athletes are known for being quick and sturdy. What they lack in height, they make up for in speed and tenacity. They move swiftly and with grace and strive for focus and precision in movement.

They are born tacticians, who carefully calculate speed, motion, force and space to determine the target. Although not as disciplined or as scientific as western athletes, they have agility to compensate.

When lacking in experience and training, they have their loved ones to inspire them. They fight like they dance, to the tune of their avid and ever loyal Filipino fans who shout like a harmonic orchestra. Hooray! What a sight to behold a Filipino being crowned as a champion!

Athletics Champions

Athletics has produced a number of gold medals for the Philippines in the Far Eastern Games before the war. It also gave the country two bronze medals in the Olympics and 11 gold medals in the Asian Games.

Karaoke Inventor

Roberto del Rosario, a Filipino is claiming the right for the invention of the Sing-Along-System (SAS) that eventually led to the development of Karaoke, a Japanese term for "singing without accompaniment". Among del Rosario's other inventions were the Trebel Voice Color Code (VCC), the piano tuner's guide, the piano keyboard stressing device, the voice color tape, and the one-man-band (OMB). The OMB was later developed as the Sing-Along-System (SAS).

Inventor of Incubator

Fe del Mundo, the first Asian to have entered the prestigious Harvard University's School of Medicine, is also credited for her studies that led to the invention of incubator and jaundice relieving device. Del Mundo, an International Pediatric Association (IPA) awardee, is an alumna of the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Medicine. Since 1941, she has contributed more than 100 articles to medical journals in the U.S., Philippines and India. In 1966, she received the Elizabeth Blackwell Award, for her "outstanding service to mankind". In 1977, she was bestowed the Ramon Magsaysay Award for outstanding public service.