The Rotary Balita no. 755 (October 7, 1954)

"Juanito" Nakpil, one of the country's top architects, sometime ago represented the Philippines in the 86th Convention of the American Architects in Boston. "I have travelled a number of times to many places in the past, but never was I embued with a keener sense of joyful anticipation as when I embarked on this trip. There were a number of things that somehow made it different from the rest." He looked back with nostalgia for Boston, a place which holds fond memories and recollections of his good old days at Harvard. It also meant re- newing old friendships and acquaintance, but most important of all was-the conveying to the American people the greetings of the Filipino brothers in profession and also to express their appreciation for the great honor the convention conferred on him, which belongs to the Philippine Architects, as well. Speaking before an assembly of 2,200 leading architects at the convention, he reviewed briefly and succinctly the Philippines past and present history. He spent a great part recollecting its struggles for freedom, its being the only Catholic country in Asia, and the bulwark and show-window of democracy in the Far East. He cited further the role it took in suppressing the communistic infiltrations, stressing on the local condition of the Huk movement and the government's relentless fight which marked the only redeeming future in our common fight against communism. In the course of his address, he said further "that such fruitful achievements would not have been made possible only thru our own efforts, but also to those of United States, for its material helps- thru the war damage compensation, technical and financial assistance, military advice, equipment and materials to build our defense forces, and the educational training of our youths in various fields. For all these, we have become closer than ever to each other. He made clear before them the present upsurge of nationalistic feeling among some of our country- men. "It was not indicative of our unfriendliness with you. Nationalism is a perfectly natural and legitimate aspiration, particularly strong in our country, which had just emerged free and independ- ent after the last war. This feeling is nothing more than an awareness of our newly-found freedom and a renewal of our resolve to keep and defend it. It is not chauvinistic nor anti-foreign." Nakpil spoke also on the government's objective in the encouragement of investment of foreign cap- ital, hand in hand with a comprehensive develop- ment of rural areas and the continued exchange of technical know-how between the Philippines and other countries. He ended his speech with a discourse on art and culture, which was supposed to be the main theme of the convention. "Since art is a universal means of expression, to know the art of a nation, is to understand the nation itself." He spoke much about Philippine architecture of today its progress, accomplishments, as well as its problems that art can not advance appreciably if its coffers are drained and the people's thoughts continuously being weighed down by the ever-pervad- ing fear of war. To maintain this condition-world peace is the only possible solution, which is encumbent upon big as well as small nations, and the Philippines has done its bit in the discharge of this common endeavor.