UNIT 1 LESSON 2 CRITICAL READING

“On Policies and Achievements of the Government and Regeneration of the Filipino”
By Manuel L. Quezon
(Excerpt)

National strength can only be built on character. A nation is nothing more nor less than its citizenry. It is the
people that make up the nation and, therefore, it cannot be stronger than its component parts. Their weakness is
its failings, their strength its power. Show me a people composed of vigorous, sturdy individuals, of men and women
healthy in mind and body; courteous, brave, industrious, self-reliant; purposeful in thought as well as in action;
imbued with sound patriotism and a profound sense of righteousness; with high social ideals and a strong moral
fiber; and I will show you a great nation, a nation that will not be submerged, a nation that will emerge victorious
from the trials and bitter strifes of a distracted world, a nation that will live forever, sharing the common task of
advancing the welfare and promoting the happiness of mankind.

Wisdom and self-interest as well as a proper regard for our future security and happiness should induce us
to entertain no illusions nor a mistaken pride as to ourselves. We are engaged in the epic task of building our nation,
to live and flourish, not for a day but for all time. We must find the flaws, if there be any, in our concept of individual
and community life, as well as in our character, and proceed at once to remedy them.

I have an abiding faith in our people. I know that they have all the faculties needed to become a powerful
and enlightened nation. The Filipino is not inferior to any man of any race. His physical, intellectual, and moral
qualities are as excellent as those of the proudest stock of mankind. But some of these qualities, I am constrained
to admit, have become dormant in recent years. If we compare our individual and civic traits with those that adorned
our forefathers, we will find, I fear, that we, the Filipinos of today, have lost much of the moral strength and power
for growth of our ancestors. They were strong-willed, earnest, adventurous people. They had traditions potent in
influence in their lives, individually and collectively. They had the courage to be pioneers, to brave the seas, clear
the forest and erect towns and cities upon the wilderness. They led a life of toil and communal service. Each one
considered himself an active part of the body politic. But those traditions are either lost or forgotten. They exist only
as a hazy-mist in our distant past. We must revive them, for we need the anchorage of these traditions to guide and
sustain us in the proper discharge of our political and social obligations.

The Filipino of today is soft, easy-going. His tendency is towards parasitism. He is uninclined to sustained
strenuous effort! He lacks earnestness. Face-saving is the dominant note in the confused symphony of his existence.
His sense of righteousness is often dulled by the desire of personal gain. His norm of conduct is generally prompted
by expediency rather than by principle. He shows a failing in that superb courage which impels action because it is
right, even at the cost of self-sacrifice. His greatest fear is not to do wrong, but of being caught doing wrong. He is
frivolous in his view of life. His conception of virtue is many times conventional. He takes his religion lightly. He thinks
that lip-service and profession are equivalent to deep and abiding faith. He is inconstant; he lacks perseverance; the
first obstacles baffle him, and he easily admits defeat. The patriotism of many Filipinos of today is skin-deep,
incapable of inspiring heroic deeds. There are those who are apt to compromise with ethical principles and to regard
truth as not incompatible with misrepresentation or self-deceit.

This appraisal of the character of our people today may sound too severe. You will realize that I would be
happier if I could only shower praise upon my countrymen. But my responsibility as head of this Nation compels me
to face and state facts, however disagreeable they may be to me or to our people, for it is only thus that we can
remedy existing evils that threaten to destroy the vitality and vigor of the race. Because I have not lost faith that
there is, within us, all the spiritual and moral forces needed for the building of a great nation, I am ruthless in pointing
out our present shortcomings. Our task—it is a heroic task—is to awaken and apply these faculties so that our people
should become what of right they should be: morally strong, virile, hard-working, refined, enterprising, persevering,
public-spirited.
 I want our people to grow and be like the molave, strong and resilient, rising on the hillside, unafraid of the
raging flood, the lightning or the storm, confident of sits own strength. If we have the will to survive and the will to
achieve social efficiency, we cannot delay this task of spiritual regeneration. Let us begin to mold the typical Filipino.

To insure the accomplishment of this task of national spiritual reconstruction, we shall formulate and adopt
a social code—a code of ethics and personal conduct—a written Bushido—that can be explained in the schools,
preached from the pulpits, and taught in the streets and plazas, and in the remotest corners of our land. We shall
indoctrinate every man, woman, and child in its precepts. By every means and power at my command, I shall strive
to enforce its principles and to require that they be so universally and constantly observed, that our children may
breathe it in the air and feel it in their very flesh. Every Filipino is a part and an objective of this great national
movement, the success of which depends upon his own success in building up his character and developing his
faculties.

This undertaking—the regeneration of the Filipino—constitutes the paramount interest of my

administration. My most cherished ambition is to see it realized. It is the greatest prize that I can crave for my life. I
call upon all the teachers, the ministers of every faith, the political and social leaders, and particularly upon you the
young men and young women to be at the vanguard of this crusade.

We have attained our freedom, but our spirit is still bound by the shackles forged from the frailties of our
nature. We owe it to ourselves and our posterity to strike them down.
Other peoples of the world are straining themselves to attain higher levels of progress and national security. We
shall not lag behind.

The Filipino people are on the march, towards their destiny, to conquer their place in the sun!

A. VOCABULARY CHECK

____ 1. The land will be inherited by his posterity. a. Supreme

____ 2. Apple is considered the vanguard of smartphone b. Masculine
technology. c. Future generations
____ 3. The speaker’s last point as of paramount d. Carefree
relevance. e. Advantageousness
____ 4. They admired his virile strength. f. Forefront
____ 5. You should not be so frivolous during exam week g. Inactive
because you need to study. h. Inspired
____ 6. They considered the expediency of appointing an i. Something that can be relied on
assistant to the manager to make work more efficient. j. Injustice
____ 7. The Bible is the anchorage of any good Christian. k. Incite
____ 8. The presenter’s sudden clap woke up the
dormant listeners.
____ 9. My physics teacher is imbued with the philosophy
of Albert Einstein.
____ 10. The unfair policies of the administration
impelled the workers to go on strike.
 B. APPLYING CRITICAL READING STRATEGIES
1. ANNOTATING THE TEXT – making notes on your copy of the reading.
2. OUTLINING THE TEXT – by locating the thesis statement, claims and evidence and plotting
these into an outline.

“The Policies and Achievements of the Government and Regeneration of the Filipino”

INTRODUCTION A. __________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
REASON 1 B. __________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
1. _______________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________
REASON 2 C. __________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
1. _______________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________
CONCLUSION D. __________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

3. SUMMARIZING THE TEXT – getting the main points of the essay and important supporting
details.

“The Policies and Achievements of the Government and Regeneration of the Filipino”

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4. QUESTIONING THE TEXT – asking specific questions on points that you are skeptical
about.
a. ________________________________________________________________
b. ________________________________________________________________
c. ________________________________________________________________
5. KEEPING A READING JOURNAL – writing your feelings and ideas in reaction to your
reading assignment.

A. “The Policies and Achievements of the Government and Regeneration of the Filipino”

B. READING STRATEGIES
II. IDENTIFYING AND ANALYZING THE CLAIMS Directions: Identify each statement below, taken
from or inspired by the previous text, as a claim of fact, value, or policy.
1. National strength can only be built on character.
_______________________
2. The Filipinos of the past became strong-willed, earnest, and adventurous by necessity: they
had to brave the seas, clear the forest, and erect the towns and cities upon the wilderness in
order to establish communities.
______________________
3. To insure the accomplishment of this task of national spiritual reconstruction, we shall
formulate and adopt a social code that can be explained in the schools, preached from the
pulpits, and taught in the streets and plazas, and in the remotest corners of our land.
_____________________
4. Teachers are in the best position to inculcate this social role in the youth because they are in
the most contact with them during their formative years at school.
_____________________
5. Stealing is wrong.
_____________________
6. Pornography is dehumanizing.
_____________________
7. Voluntary prayer should be permitted in public schools.
_____________________
8. Smoking should be prohibited in public places.
_____________________
9. Cell phones should not be used while driving.
_____________________
10. People can reduce the severity of depression by increasing their sunlight exposure each day.
_____________________
11. The US should help countries gain their independence.
_____________________
12. Democracy is superior to any other form of government.
_____________________
13. Alcoholism is a genetic disorder.
_____________________
14. Mandatory jail terms should be imposed for drunk driving violations.
_____________________
15. California will experience colder, stormier weather for the next ten years.
_____________________
GESSAY
Directions: In your own word, answer the questions below to review the key concepts in this
UNIT.

1. How would you define READING?

2. Compare and contrast reading, previewing, and skimming.

3. What is the difference between explicit and implicit claims?

4. What is the most important characteristic of a claim?

5. What are the differences between a claim of fact, policy, and value? Give an example of
each.