by Prince Thomas I. Siñel

Let us welcome profoundly our colors, symbols, flags, and spirits:

This is a place of reality where religion is a profound melody.
Open your ears to the tune of Allah from the central lands.
I radiate solemnity—oh, how I believe in harmony amidst diverse beliefs.

When my mother nurtured me, she became my tongue. 
I have the native, the first one—hailing from the east.
Amidst our language differences, we can communicate by heart.

If leaders become gods, if citizens become slaves,
I will not be silenced in the southeast.
I listened to Motherland lullabies, so I learned how to sing, I learned how to fight.

You may call me a nature goddess for the Earth is with me.
I am the mountains, rivers, and valleys here in the south,
As I illuminate this sun-drenched skin.

I believe in my blood, a living mark of my origin.
In this oil of wealth that perpetually flows in the veins of my western lands.  
I breathe, I live, in the name of abundance.

With a kaleidoscope of beauty, I am proud to be Asian.  

(Illustration by Ciara Lasdosce/FEU Advocate)