Aves de Rapiña (Birds of Prey)
Aves de Rapiña (Birds of Prey) is no doubt the most famous editorial in the Philippine’s printed media history. It was penned by the great journalist Fidel Reyes for the popular newspaper El Renacimiento (The Rebirth) on Oct. 30,1908. The said editorial was very controversial since there was a very blunt attack directed to the then Secretary of the Interior Dean C. Worcester although no name was stated. Despite the name being absent, Worcester’s allusion made him file a libel case against the people involved in the said editorial.
The editorial refers to the natural greed and excessive hunger of people for all the things considering that it is for his/her own benefit. It’s in the human nature that people seem to not get contented and always have a thirst for more: more power, more riches, more knowledge, and always more of everything. In order to achieve this, there will always be a competition. People will battle through to achieve their own desires and cravings. There will be a predator and a prey – the ones that were born to devour, and the ones that were born to be eaten and devoured.
In a certain excerpt from the editorial, it was stated that “The eagle, symbolizing liberty and strength, is the bird that has found the most adepts. And men, collectively and individually, have desired to copy and imitate the most rapacious bird in order to triumph in the plundering of their fellow-men. These are men who, besides being eagles, have the characteristics of the vulture, the owl and the vampire.” – The writer used the eagle as the figure of the United States, and certain US colonial government officials were the ones being referred to as the men, who besides being an eagle, have the characteristics of the vulture, the owl and the vampire. Those particular lines show the relationship of the predators and preys in the case stated in the editorial wherein the officials, being the predators, were pretending to be studying the mountain tribes, but in reality were looking for gold deposits in the mountains of Luzon. In this scenario, we were the ones who became their preys. They were manipulating us into thinking that what they were doing was not for their greater benefit, when in reality, it was.
This editorial is considered a classic for the reason that until now, it is still being studied and known by the people. It is one of the famous label cases in history in which until now it’s always being looked back on when speaking of the journalist’s freedom of expressing own opinions.
The main concept of this editorial is still applicable up to this day. Even in our own society, we can witness the various acts of this still being present. One of the most common example is with referral to the politics. The politicians, as we all might have known, are the devourers, for they prey on the weaker ones to achieve what they have all been longing for, which is to win the position. In a way, they are somehow blinding the people into seeing only their strengths but never their weaknesses. Sometimes, there are even presence of the illegal ways on getting the people’s votes, which is through the act of vote-buying. This inevitable occurrence would never change if we continue to become prey to the predators.
The entirety of this whole incident came from one root: the formation of the editorial published in the newspaper. In my opinion, I believe that it is just right that the writer expressed/stated what he had in mind. Everyone should be given the chance to speak their minds without any restraints but with assurance of making the right choice of words. There have been many cases wherein the concept of having a predator and prey was present, and I believe that this could never be changed for this is embedded to us humans. This could only be mollified if we would always have the right thinking, of raising our voice to protest if needed, of not joining to the wrongdoings of others, and by stopping being a passive human living in this world.
