THREE days ago, the nation commemorated the 119th anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence. As usual, the national holiday was marked by official ceremonies in various historic landmarks, highlighted by flag- raising and singing of the national anthem, honors for those who sacrificed their lives and liberty to protect the country, and rhetoric from politicians on the need for a new age of heroism. On the other side of the fence, the ever vigilant social reformists conducted their own rites—that of liberally exercising their right to protest injustice in all forms, decry economic dislocation and deprivation, and lambast government for its failures in just about everything, ranging from territorial disputes to the so-called war on drugs.