BUKAS NA LANG KITA MAMAHALIN
(A Reflective Inquiry into Love, Freedom and Time)
(Erico Joseph T. Cañete)
THE SONG “BUKAS NA LANG KITA MAMAHALIN,” was through the genius of Jimmy Borja. This silent but deep fellow from Loay, Bohol, captivated both the heart and the rational nature of the listeners, manifesting a humanistic reflection and impact on the phenomenology and metaphysics of love, freedom and time.
I’m not privy to the cordial disposition or cerebral consciousness of this unassuming but very humble and mystic Jimmy Borja when he composed this song. Therefore, I don’t attempt to fathom the denotation of his chosen words, for I’m far from the mark to say so, rather, this is just a humble reflection based on the aesthetics and the philosophy behind the song itself spiced with a prayer of giving due credit to the song and to the composer.
On the phenomenology of love:
Many thinkers labelled love in the realm of the abstract, that is, love exists in what Philosopher Plato calls the “topos ouranos” in the world of ideas. Though love has a place in the Platonic realm, yet let’s see it first in the Aristotelian phenomenology where love is directly experienced, felt, sensed, and lived by rational lovers.
The first stanza, “Kay hirap palang umibig sa ‘di tamang panahon. Kung bakit ngayon ko lang natagpuan ang isang katulad mo. Sana noon pa kita nakilala. Sana noon pa lang na ang puso ay malaya pang magmahal,” somehow manifests a dilemma of choice between love versus time and freedom. Indeed, there’s pain in loving the right person at the wrong time on a circumstance where one is already committed to someone.
Is this not a prize of being a lover and a beloved? Is this how it feels to love a person? There’s pain! There’s suffering!
Yes, it is! Afterall, as Fr. Guido Arguelles, SJ, said, “Talk not therefore of love if you’re unwilling to suffer.”
On the metaphysics of love:
The second stanza, “Bukas na lang kita mamahalin sabay sa paglaya ng ating mga puso. Bukas na lang kita mamahalin,” is a manner of transcending love beyond the corporeal realm finding its true meaning.
Love and freedom are interconnected in the sense that real love signifies selflessness, while real freedom directs itself to the welfare of the lovers.
Real love focuses on the “I” of the beloved and not on the “I” of the lover everytime the lover declares “I Love You” to the beloved, and vice versa. This manifests that love and the self are anti thesis. When the self is present, there’s no genuine love but selfishness. It’s not proper to use love as a disguise of one’s selfishness.
Freedom does not mean doing anything the lover or the beloved wants. That’s not freedom, but abuse of freedom. Genuine freedom is the act of directing the lover’s self to do what is best for the beloved and vice versa.
Now, the term “bukas” here somehow denotes eternity when renewed everyday. It becomes a never-ending renewal contextualized in the succession of moment until it reaches the level of Plato’s“topos ouranos.”
The lover and the beloved have the potential to have this realized when these three; love, freedom and time are contextualized in the One, the True and the Good. What is needed is the warrior-nature of both lover and beloved.
Now, going back to the beautiful song, it was not just an effect of the artistic imagination of Jimmy but above all his reflection of the Deity’s beauty and perfection of His handiwork of creation made alive in the former’s work of art.
Kudos to you Jimmy, my IHMS classmate, fellow Harbinger, and Team Laag buddy! We are blessed to have you.
Congratulations for being a recipient of the Governor’s Excellence Awards in the field of culture and arts on the occasion of the 172nd Bohol Day on July 22, 2026.
Wishing you all the best in life, love, and your music career!