Present Appreciates Past

  I like the poem entitled Apo on the Wall of BJ Patino because it provides a glimpse of what martial law was like back then. It gives me also an idea of what kind of relationship the narrator has with his father. Reading between the lines has a lot more to say than understanding its literal meaning. It made me feel like I was there when it happened, like I witnessed what had happened. I made a vision that was like it. Although, I didn’t actually lived then, I wasn’t even formed yet, there is a connection deep down that made me appreciate the current regime. If I’ll make a constructive criticism and comparison between the time of Martial Law and the present Duterte Administration, there’s a huge difference. As of now, the people is living in free will unlike before that it was pure dictatorship leaving the Philippines in deep struggle, young or old, rich or poor. Not only that, our country was in enormous debt. Former president Ferdinand Marcos didn’t allocate the budget accordingly in the advantage of corrupt and dishonest government officials. Most of it was almost all stashed in his bank accounts in foreign countries together with his first lady, Imelda Marcos, who bought shoes, jewelries and garments that costs a fortune. But of course, he had made a couple of accomplishments that as of now, the people benefited such as The Philippine Heart Center and San Juanico Bridge. Within his reign, crime was down the track. Outlaws and those who tried to interrogate and get rid of him were put six feet under without even knowing and investigating. However, the people don’t seem to credit him much for that. It’s because he had cast more sufferings than getting them out of poverty and fulfilling all his propaganda. Cheating on the election was his issue too. It was a blood bath period.

  Today, the people are quite happy of the new administration except for drug addicts and pushers based on a survey I’ve seen on television of a trusted news network. The current president Rodrigo Duterte is doing his work very well and accordingly. He is by far the best and gutsy president the Philippines has ever had.  He goes after drug lords and convicts the guilty, corrupt and dishonest politicians from the Senate and of those in higher to lower positions. He is bringing justice to the people as well as lessened criminality. Eventually, those people who do not believe in him and hated him for his vulgar language will turn to his side and realize that he is saving this generation, the coming and our children’s children from being ruined caused by illegal drugs – which is the root causes of almost all crimes. I didn’t mourn that my parents voted him in. They made the right choice and so far, no regrets have been made.

  Going back to the poem, the message that I got from it was the perspective that the persona’s father have about Martial Law and what it means to be a man. The narrator was clearly juvenile and shallow. His curiosity was all in. His father once told him: that was no place for a boy, only men. The narrator thought, it means so he doesn’t roam around and touch his father’s things that may injure him. But by analyzing that statement, it probably means more than that, isn’t it?

At his young age, he can’t fully understand what his father was really trying to mean, he can only interpret them literally.

  Envisioning all of what I’ve read was the reason why I am indeed grateful of where I am today compared to the past. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the past but because I know what it’s like back then that none of us would want to experience. It was all written in history now. I am fully aware that none of these would happen in the present if none of those existed in the past. It is something we should all be thankful of. J

---- Aisha D. Enconado ----

  

No Pain, No Gain

   The poem entitled Apo on the Wall by BJ Patino is a good poem because it symbolizes the loyalty of every soldier. The time in that poem was during Martial Law and the Apo that the narrator was referring to was the late Ferdinand Marcos. This poem is trying to tell us that if we work hard, we can achieve rewards from our efforts like the persona’s father in the poem, who achieved plaques and medals for being a loyal soldier. It also depicts the Marcos administration that everyone was alarmed and become snappy because of their fear of the soldiers during Martial Law.

   In the poem, there is a line that says “that was no place for a boy, only men”, meaning there’s no place for weak people, only the brave ones. There is also a line that says, “I know, I know what you’re doing”, meaning that the persona’s father must keep on doing his job because that photo on the wall was Apo who was like looking at the persona’s father guiding him. I really appreciate the help of Filipino people who’s against the Martial Law because they give us freedom until the present. During that time too, the people had experienced sacrifices.

--- Rea Acibar ---

What History Feels Like

As I’ve read the poem entitled Apo on the Wall, I know in the first place that it was about the time of Ferdinand Marcos, so it gave me the feeling of excitement for I am an enthusiast in reading something about the Philippine history.

  So, let’s talk about the poem. It was all about how ruthless and influential Marcos was. A young boy which is the narrator has a soldier father, which brings home a photo of his boss whom he called Apo and hangs it on the wall. The thing I like about the poem is it stated a verity. It made me reminisced what the time of Marcos was like and his Martial Law does to the people. I think all of us are ascertain about it. It just makes me take a peek from the past, seizing the good and bad part of it; how people were affrighted and some even become insurgent. I sympathized to those people who experienced the abusive nature of authority in the military. It is like the people being shackled in their own homeland, feeling terrified on every triple things they do.

  It makes me feel proud of the success of our entire country in the revolution.

--- Christine Joy Panarigan ---

The Reflection Show

At first, I feel nothing but after reading Apo on the Wall, I saw an extraordinary text that reminded me being afraid of my father. I’m scared of his strictness but eventually I realized that it was for my own good.

  Reflecting on what Martial Law was like, the poem Apo on the Wall is something that connects to our life. How it affects the people and what damage it did to the Philippines way back Ferdinand Marcos’ reign.

  The poem has a boy that is the narrator, who’s afraid of his father because of his snappiness and loyalty to his boss, Apo, founder of Martial Law who can order him not- so-good things.

--- Judy Ann Bañez ---

The Brief Discernment

  This poem entitled Apo on the Wall of BJ Patino is a masterpiece. It emblematizes a soldier who puts their loyalty to the president of that time. It tries to convey the value of working hard to attain awards or promotion from what we’ve worked for. It shows the governance in the past of Ferdinand Marcos. Everyone must be snappy because of fear to the military during Martial Law.

  The line: “I know I know what you’re doing”, means that the persona’s father must keep on following what Apo has ordered and enforced even at home.

--- Ramel Cabides ---

My Insights of What I’ve Read

   In my own understanding from the poem, Apo on the Wall, I like the character of the persona’s father because it shows that he always followed Apo’s administration and it seems like he fears his boss too.

   It symbolize to some youth that they have no good relationship to their father. Just like the persona’s father, teenagers nowadays don’t follow the policies their father had enforced at home. The poem reflects for two reasons, first we need to follow the rules of our dear fathers for our own sake, second, its connection to the history of Martial Law.

--- Jomar Deguinio ---

The Reality Reflection

    As I’ve read the poem, I like the perspective of the persona’s father because it shows that the father is proving to Apo even when he’s not around that he respects and fears him.

   When you reflect it into reality among the situations of teenagers nowadays, we can observe that when our fathers look at us eye to eye, we easily get scared for some reason, and we tend to follow them to avoid being reprimanded. And this poem also has a relation to the Martial Law.

--- Kim Lester Ferreras ---