The Haribon Foundation began its "Ang Paraisong Pinaka" ad campaign last year. Its message about the Philippine environment and how our country's wildlife is one the most diverse—and endangered—moved me to write to Haribon to ask whether they were going to put the ads I heard on the radio on their website. Well, the ads were made available recently and you may now listen to the radio plugs.The fact that the ads were uploaded at this time led me to reflect that "Ang Paraisong Pinaka" applies not just to our physical environment, but also our political development. The best translation of "Ang Paraisong Pinaka" I can come up with, apologies to John Milton, is "Paradise Most."
But I made a promise not to write about politics anymore, so let me just share with you my transcription and translation of "Ang Paraisong Pinaka":
Ang Paraisong Pinaka
Minsan, may isang paraiso: ang paraisong Pinaka
Ito ang pinakamayamang paraiso
Nandito ang pinakamalaki at pinakamaliit na isda sa buong mundo
Ang pinakamaraming uri ng ibon at paru-paro
Pinakamalaking paniki at agila
Pinakamalaki at pinakamaliit na kabibe
Pati na rin ang isa sa pinakamalaking bulaklak
Pero ang pinakamalungkot sa lahat
Ang buhay sa paraisong Pinaka
Ay siya ring pinakananganganib sa buong mundo
Kaya sa pinakamadaling panahon
Alagaan natin ang buhay dito sa Pilipinas
Ang ating paraisong Pinaka
Paradise Most
Once, there was a paradise: paradise Most
It is the richest paradise
Here we have the largest and smallest fish in the world
The most kinds of birds and butterflies
The largest bat and eagle
The largest and smallest shell
It also has one of the largest flowers
But the saddest of all
Life in paradise Most
Is also one of the most endangered in the world
And so, at the soonest possible time
Let us preserve life in the Philippines
Our very own paradise Most
Categories: The Philippines, Filipiniana Online
