Happy Independence Day Philippines. I know everything is crazy right now and it’s a weird time to be celebrating our independence (given that there are threats to lose that) but we still celebrate because many have fought and sacrificed their lives for the independence we now treasure.

Let me just highlight one Filipino value that I think should still define us even in these trying times. BAYANIHAN. Bayan means community–sometimes town, sometimes nation. So bayanihan means being a bayan. Solidarity, being there for each other. It is manifested in many forms. One way Filipino folks in the olden days used to beautifully display this was when neighbors move to a different place. Neighbors gather and carry their whole house to move to the new spot. This isn’t their job. This doesn’t mean they are paid in goods. People are just there to help. There are many other ways Filipinos displayed bayanihan. We took the second greatest commandment seriously which is to “love your neighbor as you love yourself” It entails time, sacrifice and hardwork. And we’ve extended the perks of Bayanihan beyond our kababayans (our fellow Filipinos) but our guests as well.

One of the most heartbreaking moments in our history, for me, is when Andres Bonifacio died in the hands of his kababayan. Bayanihan died with him. It’s irony among all ironies that the Supremo, the Father of Revolution who fought and lead our forces tirelessly for our freedom, died in the hands of the President who declared our independence from Spain on June 12 1898.

122 years after this declaration, traces of our bayanihan are becoming harder to find. We’ve been scamming each other, trying to unfairly profit from each other. And I don’t really mean to sound political here but we don’t necessarily have leaders who exemplify the spirit of Bayanihan.

A few days ago, I felt all sorts of negative feelings and wanted to burst out in all the Filipino curses that my mother would probably regret having me. I’ve been trying to keep it together because when my anxiety creeps in I get totally paralyzed and I just couldn’t allow that to happen–at least not that day. To give you a gist, I was helping an expat friend but we were scammed by a kababayan who was in no way remorseful about what he did. I have never been this embarrassed about being Filipino that I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me alive. I was so angry I wanted to punch all the walls but quickly remembered that that’ll cost me money.

But, Bayanihan is still present in some Filipinos. It is present when I called my kuya cousin to ask him what to do and he patiently explained every step even though he was taking care of his child at that time. It is still present in Juvy, my former colleague who turned out to be one of my best friends who was just a call away if I needed her. It is present in Sindy, who instead of giving me a long sermon about delayed tasks, allowed me to rant away. It is present in Madam Cris who walked from her house to help clean. It is present in all the guards who assured us that they were just misinformed. Despite everything that happened, I still consider myself blessed having all these people in my life.

So if you are reading this, whether you are Filipino or not, let’s make it a lot easier to find Bayanihan and extend it beyond helping our kababayans. The world needs Bayanihan today more than ever.