Mga Ibong Mandaragit

Mga Ibong Mandaragit is a novel and a masterpiece of a filipino writer and also a
social activist, Amado V. Hernandez that focuses on how our country has no equality
setting that intelligence, wealth, and power was based only on how others see you with
your physical self that led to some filipinos being much more powerful than others leading
their feet to selfishness regardless on your history. That was the time when the Philippines
was at the arms of Japanese occupation and how Amado’s experience as a guerrilla
intelligence officer led him to write this kind of novel.
As I’ve read the novel, realizing that the novel acts as a sequel to Jose Rizal's
historic Noli Me Tangere and El filibusterismo. Understanding the story, Mando was sent
out to a test by Tata Matyas to get the wealth of Simoun that was thrown in the sea by
Padre Florentino with the help of two other guerrillas. As they went to the Pacific Ocean,
the only test I assumed Tata Matyas gave Mando was his greediness because on the
time Mando found the wealth as mentioned also in Rizal’s work, leaving the two guerrillas
dead because of a shark attack and how he managed to kill the other. After knowing that
Mando was not that knowledgeable enough to interpret things, he decided to go to
different countries to study. Symbolizes that back in the old days, you can be superior to
others just by how the society defines you based on your physical self and color perhaps.
Further reading the novel, Mando made an association named Kampilan that focuses on
battling against the higher level individuals within the government using the reality in every
people and the true state of the people that were inferior to some. Knowing that some
superior individual in the story like Don Segundo and his members were having a
conversation of selling illegal weapons, gambling yet they kept their image safe by hiding
in the dark and even though Mando discovered their dirty truths, he still can’t do anything
for he was inferior to them. That’s how the story goes when you are against in a highly
corrupt government with no sufficient evidence. When the incident that happened in
Mando’s office one night, that two persons that was believed it was from Don Segundo
tried to kill Mando yet defended himself but lead to a serious injury. When he was at the
hospital, he explained all of what is the real situation inside the government and because
of that their voice became stronger to the point that they continued their fight against the
officials and leading them to hide to the public. Mando and the other members of the
association made a company with the help of television broadcasts and radios, to spread
the truth against the lies that were made by the government.
When I read the whole story, by analyzing the main ideas, Amado used
characters as situations in the story to the real life, and he was pertaining his
experience to the unequal rights of Filipino citizen, both political and economic, all
because of the people who sits in the government with their selfishness, greediness,
and for their lack of integrity. These kinds of events are happening nowadays. It may
look like different but still, I ended up to the inequality to the lower class of Filipinos. It
will bring greater social anxiety and learn to stand on its feet to communicate and fight
not only with oneself but more than most. Being aware of the problems you may face
should be studied and not taken lightly. Even the choice of town leaders should be
considered when choosing for the right persons. The result of reading "Mga Ibong
Mandaragit" is vigilance and a bias toward social justice and equality.

VON ALLEN PALMARES