Bayanihan, or more specifically, the bayanihan spirit, is an archetypal Filipino trait. The term refers to a certain spirit or attitude of communal unity and cooperation to achieve a particular goal, which has manifested itself since the colonial era, when men in rural towns would come together to lift a family’s entire house to move to a new place. Throughout our country’s history, we have seen many instances of bayanihan, from women volunteering as nurses to Filipino soldiers during wartime, to ordinary citizens donating relief and aid to victims of calamities. As it takes many forms, bayanihan cannot simply be defined or encapsulated by a single word, but it definitely involves kinship, selflessness, and compassion for others.
Martin Romualdez knows this all too well, as his home of Eastern Visayas, especially its capital, Tacloban City, was the hardest hit by super-typhoon Yolanda (international code name: Haiyan) in November 2013. And his constituents were among those who were beneficiaries of bayanihan of a worldwide scale; aid in the form of cash donations, relief goods, and volunteers for search and rescue and reconstruction flooded from all over the Philippines and from other countries as well.
In his own way of paying it forward, he makes it a point to return the favor when other parts of the country are hit by calamities or crises. To Romualdez, bayanihan and “malasakit” are distinctly Filipino virtues that we should bring back and instill in our way of life.
This show of unity and compassion—and overwhelming display of the bayanihan spirit—touched Romualdez’s heart, and later on inspired him to run for higher office. From a three-term Congressman, he is now aspiring for a Senate seat in the upcoming May elections, running on a platform to bring back compassion, or “malasakit,” to governance and law-making. In a radio interview he said, “Ipakita natin sa buong mundo na kapag nagkakaisa ang mga Pilipino at nagmamalasakit sa isa’t-isa, ang dating mukhang imposible, magiging posible na.”
Martin Romualdez at a relief for Typhoon Lando victims in Calumpit, Bulacan
While the slow rehabilitation of Yolanda-stricken areas has caused much frustration and unnecessary suffering for those who already lost a lot, Central Visayas is gradually getting back on its feet, thanks to the resiliency of the Filipino spirit and the continuing flow of aid from within the country and around the world. And as the fulfillment of the promise of a rainbow after the storm, the historic visit by His Holiness Pope Francis to Tacloban in January especially lifted the spirits of Filipinos after so much tragedy and conflict.
Not one to claim the title “hero of Yolanda” for himself or for any single person alone in the midst of a number of politicians and opportunists taking a lion’s share of the credit for helping the victims of the super-typhoon, Martin Romualdez remains grounded and gives credit where it is due. He continues to acknowledge the true heroes of Yolanda: all those who prayed, gave assistance, and came to the aid of all the Filipinos who were affected, for their acts of charity, selflessness, compassion, and generosity of spirit.
For Romualdez, “malasakit” was and still is the prevailing theme of their Yolanda experience. He believes that it is our modern take on the age-old “bayanihan” spirit, once thought already lost in our culture and way of life. Martin Romualdez, in fact, has been adamantly espousing the return of “malasakit” and the true essence of “bayanihan” not just in government but in every aspect of our lives. As the central theme of his senatorial bid, Romualdez has no doubt that with compassion in the forefront of our lives, we can bring about change for the better. As Leyte and other Yolanda-affected areas have risen from the devastation to come back better, stronger and wiser, he believes our country can be great again.