Our national treasures

A national treasure is one who, during his lifetime, had made a name for himself, his institution, the country and the people whom he represented, who will honor and revere him forever for what he advocated for the good of the country and people.

Let us name only two of our so many great Filipinos who are within the realm of a national treasure, not only in the esteem of this country but of people all around the world.

Dr. Jose Rizal, a revered Filipino nationalist and prolific writer, fought fearlessly for his country’s independence through his literary works. Widely known for his intellectual thinking, he was a genius in his own right, and the national hero of the Philippines.

General Carlos Romulo was a Filipino diplomat, a Pulitzer Prize winner, a statesman, journalist and president of the United Nations General Assembly, and was named one of the Philippines’ national artists in literature. He was an anti-colonialist and a believer in internationalism.

The way we honor these two national treasures will always reflect our image as a people to the entire world.

We have another national treasure in a thing of beauty that is a joy and a pride forever.

The Las Piñas bamboo organ was declared a national treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines due to its cultural and historical significance to the Filipino people. It is a unique and amazing musical instrument that is the only one of its kind in the world.

Housed in the St. Joseph Parish Church in Las Piñas City, it is the oldest, largest and most unique pipe organ in the world. As it celebrated its 200th anniversary last February 2024, the Las Piñas City government has continued to preserve this national cultural treasure, a source of national civic pride.

The church is about 10 kilometers south of the heart of Manila. The bamboo organ was built between 1797 and 1819. The church, made mainly of adobe stones, has an “earthquake baroque” architectural style.

The bamboo organ was built by Father Diego Cera during the period of his assignment as parish priest of Las Piñas from 1795 to 1832. He collected the bamboo in 1816 and buried them in the seashore. They were unearthed in 1817 and by 1821, the organ was almost finished.

St. Joseph Parish Church became known in the Philippines and in many parts of the world because of this bamboo organ made of 1,031 pipes, 902 of which were bamboo. It was completed by Father Cera after six years in 1824. He also built the town’s stone church and was its first resident Catholic parish priest.

Anything old of value and beauty can make life worth living and enjoying. The following short narrative by my wife, Monette, made me feel so good one day:

Before he died, a father said to his son, “Here is a watch that your grandfather gave me. It’s almost 200 years old. Before I give it to you, go to the jewelry store downtown. Tell them that I want to sell it and see how much they offer you.”

The son went to the jewelry store, came back to his father, and said, “They offered $100 because it’s too old.” The father said, “Go to the pawnshop.”

The son went to the pawnshop, came back and said, “The pawnshop offered $10 because it looks too worn out.”

The father then told his son to go to the museum and show them the watch. He went to the museum, came back and said to his father, “The curator offered $500,000 for this very rare piece to be included in their precious antiques collection.”

The father said, “I wanted to let you know that the right place will value you in the right way. Don’t find yourself in the wrong place.”