Sir Clifford Robin Temprosa, a Knight of Rizal member from the Astoria Chapter, delivers his remarks at the New York State Area Assembly on February 20, 2026, at the Philippine Center. | Photo by Paula Morandarte
First of Two-Part Series
We invoke the name of José Rizal often – in ceremony, in speeches, in oaths, in ritual. But invocation is not inheritance. And inheritance is not nostalgia. It is weight.
Patriotism rarely dies in spectacle. It does not always collapse under foreign invasion or dramatic defeat. More often, it erodes quietly – through comfort, ego, factionalism, and silence. And that is what should unsettle us.
If Rizal were alive today, would he recognize us as his heirs – or merely as his admirers? Admiration is easy. Embodiment is costly.
I speak not only as a Knight of Rizal, but as a Filipino of the diaspora — a proud Tsinoy, Chinese by blood and Filipino by heart. Like millions of our kababayan abroad, I carry the Philippines wherever I go. In hospitals and classrooms. In city halls and small businesses. In remittances sent home and movements built overseas.
The Filipino story is no longer confined to the archipelago. It is global. And so too is our responsibility.
Patriotism Rarely Dies Loudly. We have seen Empires fall dramatically. And we know patriotism fades quietly.
It fades when unity becomes selective, when silence becomes safer than truth, when personalities are defended more fiercely than principles, when loyalty to faction replaces loyalty to country.
Look at the Philippines today. Elections divide families. Misinformation fractures communities. Political dynasties consolidate power. Corruption erodes public trust. Welfare systems struggle under the weight of both need and doubt.
These are not partisan observations. They are moral realities.
Look at Filipino Americans. We are among the largest Asian American communities in the United States – yet we remain underrepresented in decision-making spaces. We are nurses who sustained hospitals through COVID-19. We are essential workers who kept economies functioning. We are immigrants who build industries, raise families across continents, and fuel remittances that support entire provinces back home.
Yet many Filipino nurses are striking for safe staffing ratios and dignified working conditions. Immigrant families live with the constant anxiety of enforcement shifts and political rhetoric that turns human beings into bargaining chips. Filipino Americans struggle to consolidate political influence because we remain divided – by generation, by geography, by ideology.
These are not abstract issues. They are Filipino issues. They are diaspora issues. They are moral issues. And if we claim to defend patriotism, we cannot remain silent while dignity is negotiated and truth is diluted. Rizal did not sacrifice his life for ornamental nationalism. He confronted moral erosion precisely because it was unfolding before him.
The Cost of Division – Division is not simply disagreement. It is not a healthy debate. Division is ego hardened into structure. It is pride disguised as principle. It is a faction elevated above purpose.
It costs credibility. It costs leverage. It costs trust.
‘Division among institutions, chapters, and leaders is not harmless. When organizations compete for prominence rather than collaborate for purpose, credibility erodes. When alliances calcify into camps, growth magnifies ego. When dissent is silenced to preserve comfort, moral authority diminishes.”
The fracture between Filipinos in the homeland and Filipinos in the diaspora is real. Too often, we romanticize one another or resent one another. Those in the Philippines may view the diaspora as distant or disconnected. Those abroad may view the homeland through nostalgia or frustration.
Instead of solidarity, we cultivate suspicion. Instead of collaboration, we tolerate fragmentation. And fragmentation weakens both.
While we debate who is “more Filipino,” policy is shaped without us. While we argue over identity, our collective influence shrinks. While we fragment along ideological and generational lines, others consolidate power.
We must also be courageous enough to look inward. Division among institutions, chapters, and leaders is not harmless. When organizations compete for prominence rather than collaborate for purpose, credibility erodes. When alliances calcify into camps, growth magnifies ego. When dissent is silenced to preserve comfort, moral authority diminishes.
Growth does not automatically produce unity. Growth amplifies whatever culture already exists. If integrity exists, growth strengthens it. If ego exists, growth institutionalizes it. We cannot condemn factionalism in government while tolerating it within our own ranks. We cannot publicly critique corruption while privately rationalizing compromise.
If patriotism falters anywhere, it does not begin with attack. It begins with us. We Are Inherently Political – There is a misconception that patriotism must be apolitical to remain pure. That is a comforting myth.
We may not be partisan – but we are inherently political. The moment you anchor yourself in conscience, you enter the arena of power. The moment you defend dignity, you confront systems.
Rizal was not a party operative. But he was undeniably political. His novels were not entertainment; they were indictments. They exposed institutional abuse, clerical excess, and colonial humiliation. He challenged authority and paid for it with his life.
If Filipino nurses strike because profit is prioritized over patient safety, that is not a partisan talking point. It is a question of dignity.
If immigrant families fear separation and raids, that is not an electoral strategy. It is a question of humanity.
If Filipino Americans remain underrepresented in governing structures that affect their lives, that is not a campaign inconvenience. It is a question of power.
When integrity is threatened, silence is not neutrality. It is complicity. Patriotism is not passive sentiment. It is participatory courage. We do not inherit independence as decoration. We inherit it as a responsibility.
–TO BE CONTINUED
