By Wilson Lee Flores | December 14, 2025
Between the dangerous, dazzling “ningning” (glitter) of false promises & the steady, guiding “liwanag” (light) of truth—which do we choose?
Last December 12, at 87-year-old #KamuningBakery Cafe, the non-partisan #PandesalForum honored the 150th birth anniversary of the fierce, brilliant hero #EmilioJacinto—the “Brains of the #Katipunan.”
There, the powerful words of Jacinto’s timeless essay, “Ang Ningning at Ang Liwanag,” were given voice by LIRA Chairman & @ateneodemanilau Professor @abnerdormiendo. This poignant event, suggested by historian & environmentalist @red.constantino of the @constantinofoundation, was a living testament to ideas that refuse to die.
Jacinto’s warning is urgent: to reject the seductive glitter of #corruption & choose the purifying light of integrity.
Today, as moral ambivalence & systemic #corruption shadow our society in the #Philippines, his call is not history—it is an urgent manifesto. We do not need more cynics. We need courageous hearts. We need a revolution of conscience.
Read. Share. Ignite the conversation. Let’s choose light.
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Facebook post by Wilson Lee Flores | Dec. 12, 2025
We gathered Dec. 12, 2025 in the fragrant embrace of the 87-year-old #KamuningBakery Cafe to honor a revolutionary flame: the 150th Birth Anniversary of poet, patriot, & “Brains of the #Katipunan,” #EmilioJacinto.
His living legacy—great-great-grandnieces @melissagalauran2020 & Atty. @dulcepunzalan, & descendant Marvin Dona—breathed life into history.
Historians @red.constantino (@constantinofoundation) & @eufemioagbayani (@nhcpofficial) wove the narrative, while poets @up.edu.ph @officialupdiliman Prof. @vimnadera & @ateneodemanilau Prof. @abnerdormiendo of LIRA gave voice to his pen, in a dialogue guided by me #WilsonLeeFlores as #PandesalForum moderator.
But a most profound witness stood sentinel outside: a century-old Narra #tree. In a city of vanishing green, its gnarled limbs are a cathedral of memory, its rings holding chronicles older than our republic.
As the non-partisan, tertulia-inspired “Pandesal Forum” concluded, environmentalist Red Constantino led us not just to the #tree, but into its presence—a silent testament that true heritage is written in soil & soul, in parchment & bark.
To love our nation is to cherish both the fire in our history & the roots in our earth. The revolution is remembered not only in speeches, but in the shade we preserve for generations yet to breathe….
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Tags: @kamuningbakery @wilsonleeflores
Hashtags: #EmilioJacinto #Jacinto150 #Katipunan #PhilippineHistory #NarraTree #AncientTree #EnvironmentalHeritage #UrbanForest #TreeConservation #Poetry #LIRA #KamuningBakery #Stewardship #FilipinoYouth #QuezonCity #History #Conservation
