I can just imagine a Filipino Philosophy

by Jose Julian Meneses

I can’t imagine a circle – triangle shape, an invisible man, a flying bird without wings, a fast turtle, a mute that can speak, a deaf that can hear, a blind that can see or lastly a true Filipino. What is really a Filipino? A very hard question to answer but can explain in some ways. Filipinos prepared and spend a lot for festivals and other big occasions, Filipinos wanted some things to be filled of full decorations, Filipinos idolized so much many imported objects, foreigners and other countries, Filipinos believe strongly to superstitious, Filipinos still love the corrupt politicians, and Filipinos prayed a lot but less in applications. This is not to show how negative Filipinos are but this is the reality many lacks and weaknesses and it simply shows a call for a change. Let’s change the Filipino essence. We can’t deny that we Filipinos were mixed of different colonizers. That’s why there is no a question why we can easily adjust to the situations wherever we are and it is a positive view. We can do this and that because we are born to be like that. We were for everything. Unlike to other races we are unique. A German child is born by German couples, a Chinese child is born by Chinese couples, but Filipinos is born by different persons and described as many citizenships. There are no questions why we Filipinos are very distance apart with one another in terms of personalities. Therefore, there could be no absolute Filipino.

I just realized something else. You may agree with me or not but I personally somehow conclude theoretically that Filipino himself is a philosophy. How come? Isn’t that philosophy is used to applied for people’s daily lives? Widens our understanding of things? To be reasonable enough in dealing with the situations? Now if I to connect it with “a Filipino”, as I said, Filipinos can adjust to whatever there is because they are packed with different personalities. Just like philosophy, it adjusts to every what there is because it was made to be applicable or idealistic. Philosophy is also packed with different philosophers. Filipino can understand many things because of the big efforts they have. Just like philosophy, it makes man to be more understandable of things. Filipino have this personality of “diskarte” which means they have the capacity to make reasons if they want just to escape about something. Just like philosophy, it is made for man to be reasonable. If there is the western philosophy there could be also a Filipino philosophy for it has the attributes of a philosophy. Somehow, no need of texts and explanations because Filipino himself is already the Filipino philosophy. A kind of a living philosophy that if you want to study the Filipino philosophy you need to study what is a Filipino by experience and time. However, I can’t imagine it consistently the things I have reflected whenever I go back to the reality of what Filipinos do today. What we see of a Filipino right now is not truly in himself but only influenced by others. To be a true Filipino we need to overcome the bad things within us that destroys other fellow Filipinos too. The more we do bad things the many will be affected and influenced. It’s a cycle explanations. Filipinos became like this because of other’s influence and the one who influence was like that because of the influence of the others. What are we right now is just an absurdity. Meaning to say, the start of a true Filipino, that is a “diskarte” Being or even more than what we see right now, begins in every one of us. It is to se the real essence as being truly a Filipino.  Let’s change what is the Filipino right now into a better Filipino but still remains as a Filipino.

Filipino Pride (?)

by Mark Rexie John Sornito

Being a Filipino is oftentimes uplifting because of the many Filipinos who gives pride to our nation due to their heroic acts or to their talents that are unique. There are many things to be proud of living in a country named Philippines. With the many sights to behold including the beautiful people. This is just a small country and our people are also mostly small but the name is ringing everywhere. From country to country Filipinos are muttered. We are slowly recognized as a race that should not be belittled. We can be great as a nation if all of us can just believe in ourselves.

But everything has a flaw, everything in this world has a source of downfall. Filipinos are not saintly, at least not all. We are known not only as somebody who are good. There are negatives when it comes to being a Filipino.

If Filipinos are said to have good talents, it might as well be true. But talents and skills come not only in good packages. It’s not only in singing that Filipinos are known for. Philippines is known as one of the most corrupt country in the world. Stealing in the Philippines is practiced ranging from a jobless in the street to a man wearing suit and tie in congress. The talent comes au naturel. It’s more fun to steal in the Philippines.

Filipino may be known as optimistic people. We become proud whenever we see a person with Filipino blood becoming well known internationally, believing that we are destined to be great. Smiling whenever there are problems or swimming in floodwaters after a typhoon devastated our homes. We already see the sunrise even though the rain did not yet stop. But this kind of mentality should not remain in our disposition. It should be practiced. We should not only focus on the positive possible things that are about to happen, Filipinos should see the present reality in order to do everything to achieve what we want together.

There are a lot to be thanked for in being a Filipino. We are blessed with a beautiful country and smiling people despite everything bad that happened. We should appreciate all of these. We are a developing country but in order to be better, we should accept the present situations that are happening to our fellow Filipinos and do everything to rise together. We are a democratic country and therefore it’s the responsibility of all to do what is the best for all.

Filipino? Duh.

by Mark Rexie John Sornito

I prefer foreign pop music over OPM. I love watching American TV series. Whenever I go to the cinemas to watch movies, they’re all Hollywood. I’m even more confident in my English than speaking Tagalog.

Aside from being born in this country and becoming a Filipino citizen, I have a hard time claiming my identity as a Filipino without raising some eyebrows if you just base it in my lifestyle. Many of my day to day doings relate to foreign cultures or directly connected to them. But at least I know that I am not alone. Many Filipinos are. We Filipinos are fascinated on things that we ourselves do not produce. Many of us prefer imported goods. Maybe because they are expensive compared to our own ‘cheap’ goods or just different compared to others’. Heads turn whenever we see foreigners as if they’re from other planets. We speak English to sound rich and intelligent even though some statements doesn’t even make sense as long as it’s good to hear. We got to used saying ‘Good Morning’, ‘Sorry’, ‘Thank You’ than ‘Magandang Umaga’, ‘Pasensya’, ‘Salamat’. We are either Westernized or wanted to be westernized. I imagine Filipinos answering ‘Duh’ whenever asked of our identity as if that’s the most nonsensical question ever. And I do not exempt myself from that or the possibility of being that kind.

After everything our country had to pass through in the past, after what our ancestors have gone through, everything makes sense and I can’t blame them for it. Too many people had dwell in this country with different cultures and races, leaving too many residues to erase. Our country became the melting pot. We were once oppressed for too long that even after we had our freedom we are still imprisoned in others’ cultures. It’s like we cannot live without them; cannot be Filipinos without them. If we look at the technicalities, we cannot be Filipinos. Being hospitable does not make me a Filipino even that’s what they say so. Filipinos are not the only people who are hospitable, warm and friendly in the world. Everything is so not just us. Even the word ‘Filipino’ is not Filipino itself. It’s just nonsense to call myself a Filipino- a thing that, in a sense, does not even exist.

Thinking about this makes me feel so heavy. Many cultures and customs piled one after the other.

But I know in myself that beneath this pile, in every person who call themselves Filipinos, there is a core of a true Filipino. It is an identity that cannot be proven concretely but is bigger than we have thought. It goes beyond color, lifestyle and language. It is the burning desire to be a Filipino and to stand up as one no matter what happens, may it be bad or good. It cannot be seen but it is felt. An invisible force that separates us from other races. It gives us pride- different from any other pride material things can give.

Being a Filipino is hard to grasp and cannot be fully grasped.

That’s it. I cannot prove it but I can feel it. I can feel the flame burning inside of me- my being a Filipino.

Yes, I’m sun-kissed, short in stature, has a big nose and thick lips. But these cannot prove my identity as a Filipino. I’m a Filipino because I’m a Filipino. ‘Duh.’

I’M NOT BUT STILL I AM.

by Karl P. Bolivar

We should be proud that we are a Filipino (Should we?) We are different from others (yeah, because we mix other culture to make our own.) We are Filipino (are we?)

There are things that or should be eliminated in the Filipino. I’m talking about here is the characteristic which is not appropriate and worst in the being of Filipino. Our well known term which is the Filipino time means that Filipino is always late. This is worst in the Filipino. Activity is late to start because people came late. The activities must be an hour advance so that the program will be start on time. The program must be given an hour allowance to the late people comers.

Things I like as Filipino are the hospitality of the Filipino, the debt of gratitude, the bayanihan, and others. Filipinos feel special when people visited them. In payment of that, the host give everything as long as they can to their visitors. When you help Filipinos even just once, they will not forget it and they have a debt of gratitude on you. As long they live, they will remember your help and they will help you always when you are in need. Because of this debt of gratitude, bayanihan evolved. If you lost one of your love ones, people will just help without payment in building the so called “palaypay”. People help because they have a debt of gratitude on you. Many things I like on Filipinos but many things that should be eliminated on the Filipinos.

Extreme “Beauty”: A Thing to be a remembered

by: Dave Raymond B. Clarito

What are the reasons why things, events, and people remain in our minds? For Filipinos the beauty of a certain reality makes them stick in the Filipino mind. Beautiful is the only metaphysical reality Filipinos have, which is also related to the good. Truth, Goodness, and Beauty is just one for the Filipinos. That beautiful however is not just what makes Filipino remember things, but extremity of the thing is the main reason why Filipinos remember things.

My mother once told me about a priest whom he has encountered in our parish when I wasn’t yet born. He told me that that priest was very kind in the sense that the parishioners has nothing to say to him that is very bad or something that is not good about him. My mother told me that Fr. Condino, not yet Msgr. Condino, is very approachable kind of priest. He has in him the attitude of being helpful and entertaining in many circumstances, whether it is a very important one or just for laughs agenda. She also told me that Fr. Condino relates to his parishioners always; he is very friendly and close to his parishioners.

That goodness of Msgr. Condino, now, is always remembered by my mother and also my grandmother. That goodness for them is equalized to the beautiful which is what Filipinos always remember. I don’t really understand why, but maybe that’s what really Filipinos are. This kind of understanding of beautiful for Filipinos does not limit only to the things that for their eyes is really beautiful, but even to the things that cannot be seen by our bare eyes. How mysterious! It somehow relates to our understanding of God. What is good is beautiful, and that is what Filipinos are.

Escaping the Filipino Identity with “Sunod-sunod” Attitude

by: Dave Raymond B. Clarito

Philo. III

A very long time, the problem of Filipinos’ identity remains unsolved. For so “many” different bloods, foreign bloods, that is flowing in our veins, who can say, I am a real and true Filipino? This affects also our attitudes and outlooks in life and even our physical features. There are those who look like Chinese, Thai, Malaysian, and other Southeast Asian people. That is all because of our mixed blood with those foreign who were able to stay in our country for a period of time and also to those who colonized us.

But allow me to take this as what a Filipino is; a mixed blood person, with an attitude that is also peculiarly mixed in that person, and a mixture of Southeast Asian features. Let me take this as a description of a Filipino and take the “sunod-sunod” or “no originality” attitude as the main topic that is to be discussed. We will use the “sunod-sunod” or “no originality” attitude to answer the question: what thing a Filipino do to go away from his being a Filipino, and yet remain a Filipino?

What is a “sunod-sunod” attitude a Filipino has? What we see, example, from other people, like material things, that make them look good, we also want to have and acquire them. Even though sometimes that it does not suit in us, we still love to imitate others and have what they also have. Let’s take for example the guy I saw wearing a varsity jacket, actually he’s a friend of mine. I told him that it’s too hot in this afternoon to wear a varsity jacket and go marketing in an ukay-ukay stall. He told me that it doesn’t matter, because there are good-looking girls there; because girls, as what he said, love seeing a guy wearing a varsity jacket! I thought to myself, even though that guy sweats much and smell not good, because of that jacket? That’s one example. The idea why girls love looking to a guy wearing a varsity jacket was actually originated from those foreign movies they have watched.

So, how does my friend tried to run away from being a Filipino and imitate those “foreign-varsity-jacket-wearing boys, and yet remain being a Filipino? Obviously, he still remains and be identified as a Filipino because he speaks Filipino fluently and tries hard to speak English like those actors in the movies. His wearing of varsity jacket doesn’t change his Filipino features anyway, and didn’t turn his skin tone like those of the faces of Geishas in Japan.

The idea actually here is that the more you practice “sunod-sunod” attitude and try to imitate be like your foreign idols, the more you become a Filipino, because that’s what Filipinos are. What causes that “sunod-sunod” attitude is our being mixed blood. Because of that mixed blood in us, we feel sometimes that are identical with those whom we idolized. The blood of a person whom we idolize and imitate sometimes, may surely be the same blood with us or has an influence in our blood that triggered our feeling to like what they like, wear what they wear, and worst, do what they do.

THE HOSPITALITY OF PHENOMENAL CATHOLICS How Can I Not Be A Filipino Yet Remain As One

Johnmer Poblador Villanueva, Special Philosophy

When I was figuring out the topic for this reflection, two things came across my mind which made me weigh what to choose. I thought they would both equally make me happy if I have to write something about them and so, I am taking this endeavor of exploring both Filipino hospitality and religiosity. I title this paper, The Hospitality of Phenomenal Catholics. I just hope to get my message into the track of answering the question, “how can I not become a Filipino yet remain as one?”

For twenty-five years now, I have not gone or stayed outside of the city longer than a month. It was only last summer that I was able to have a month-long experience outside of my usual comforts when I was assigned in San Miguel for my pastoral exposure. San Miguel is the first town when one goes somewhere Southeast outside Iloilo City. Of course, I must affirm that it is a beautiful town with very hospitable people. It is not that rural. It is the gateway to Aleosan District; and as gateway, it has good business and commerce. However, I am not going to talk purely about the people of San Miguel. All I want to say is that my one-month stay outside the city could not possibly give a thorough observation as regards Filipino hospitality and religiosity. I would like to raise the point that understanding fully one’s culture or values does not only take a month or a year. I believe it takes a lifetime. One needs to immerse himself fully and even become part of the culture to grasp what is it and what is in it. However, this is still not an assurance that one’s culture or values are fully understood or grasped.

 

Filipinos are really known throughout the world as a hospitable people. We belong to a culture where everyone is accepted. We want that as much as possible nobody is left out, that everyone is included and everyone is accommodated. We make our guests feel at home, that our houses are offered even to strangers or that we could invite a passer-by to dine with us. We are very hospitable, we are accommodating. In this spirit, our fiestas and birthdays or any other special occasions would be celebrated with as much pomp as possible.  We want our events to be very festive and impressive. We have lots to eat and plenty to drink. All these pomp and ostentatiousness we offer to our loved ones and guests who come from the barrios and other towns just to celebrate with us. The usual Filipino hiya makes everything possible. Even in a Filipino’s simple life, the thought of a grandiose celebration is never left out. The Filipino hospitality because of hiya goes out even to the point of borrowing money from other people or even asking for solicitations just to cope with the desired celebration. It is the kind of hospitality that no longer thinks of tomorrow for what is important is what is in stored for the guests today.  Leonardo Mercado sketched the hierarchy or ranking of Filipino values as follows: life, values related to the sakop like the extended-family, values concerning relationships and all other values. These values according to him may be illustrated in a circle where the core value is life, followed by the others in concentric circles.  In simpler terms, Filipino values are rounded and founded on relationships. Filipinos value relationship strongly that one’s personal comfort is at the expense of providing the best accommodation possible for his guests.

When we went to Manila for the papal visit, I coined the term Phenomenal Catholics. Usually, we hear the term nominal Catholics. But I think for me there are also phenomenal Catholics. I guess these are many. Look at our churches when there are more festive celebrations in the Faith. Let us see the streets during religious events where they are flooded by people who come from different walks of life. When the pope arrived last January, we hear almost everybody talking about him and now euphoria is gone. There are tens of thousands perdon lighted on Candlemas but there are really a small number of people flocking to the cathedral on ordinary days. Sometimes or even most of the time, Filipino religiosity is phenomenal. We only are a Catholic people when there is fiesta, when there are religious sadsads or when there are great clerical men who would arrive or die. Or in the most particular sense, we are Catholics when there are licensure exams or when we have special petitions to ask from the Lord.

The hospitality of phenomenal Catholics makes a description to this race.  This might be a good branding for a race such as the Filipino people but looking at its core, we would see that Filipinos hospitality is grounded on hiya and their religiosity is dependent on phenomenon. This probably could be one of the identifications that even without it Filipinos would still remain a Filipino. One would remain a Filipino even on fiestas he doesn’t have anything to offer to his guests but only a heart very open to others. One would still remain a Filipino if he goes to church and practices his faith with utmost reverence and fidelity.

 

Filipinos in the making: Being a Filipino but not a Filipino.

Hundreds of years ago, natives of this archipelago were living peacefully, growing in their identity, enriching their culture and writing their own history but all of that sudden they found out that they were not alone in the world. Different races landed in these islands. Chinese came for trade, then Spaniards came brought to us faith, followed by the Americans bringing with them education, the Japs, the British, and all the others. War happened, revolution, influences, etc. the point is, colonization vanished little by little our identity and the effect to us is detrimental. We lost our precious possessions, out pure identity and culture, their influences jammed with ours and the result is that we became mutants in our land. Unconsciously, the effects were infused in our minds and the result is a loose sense of identity, low in patriotism, the mentality that we want to be like others, the hiya mentality, and having a big deal to what others say.

Loose in identity is the effect of the diverse influence to us. We can no longer find what is really ours and who we really are added by the geography of this archipelago that had separated our cultures from one island to another. Loose of identity weakens patriotism thus, crab mentality developed as our negative trait. We are inclined to want the things from the other country than valuing and patronizing what is ours. The “imported syndrome” so to say, has developed due to the fact that we were once had tasted the taste of western culture and we liked it. We see western culture for example as our ideal lifestyle and we want to be like them, we imitate their language, culture, dresses, etc. we base our lifestyle from them. The consequence is we forget what is ours.

The “we-want-to-be-like-others” mentality is the effect of having low sense of the self. We tend to imitate others because we thought that we are not good as us. Perhaps being colonized created an impression to us after we are being suppressed for a long time that they were superior to us. Thus, we become insecure to our identity. The “we-want-to-be-like-others” mentality is connected to the “what-other-say-is-big-deal” mentality. Others have always big influence to ourselves. We need to act like hypocrites for the sake of what the other will say to us. Because of that, we deceive ourselves. We must give them good impressions from us so that we could be friends with them. And here the “Hiya” mentality enters which is playing along the safe line so that we could protect our faces and self-worth from them. We are ashamed to lose our faces because we might bring bad impressions and we can no longer be inside the inner ring.

Hiya regulates our behavior in the society in respect to the feelings of others. We don’t want to do bad things not really because it is morally wrong but also because we what others say to us matters. We don’t want to lose our faces to others. Thus, in order to maintain relationships and good impressions, we avoid doing wrong things or act as if we are good. And these things all ends up in the desire to be accepted, to be also inside the inner ring where everyone else are.

Social acceptability summarizes all of those mentalities to one. We want to be accepted by others because we don’t want to be left outside of the inner ring. For example; for some, it is a big deal to have things, to do things, to experience things, to act things, the many is doing. Like buying an expensive smart phone because everyone has it even if one doesn’t really need to buy, it’s for the sake of being in. We want others to accept us by doing these things to please them as if they are the ones who determine for ourselves. All of these may uproot us from ourselves, from our identity. We imitate because we want to be like them. It is a big deal and we take personally what others will say because we are ashamed to lose our faces from them and being left outside not belonging inside the “inner ring” of the society. These creates a lose grounding to ourselves, to who we are and that the reality is, from the moment we live until we die no one could help us really make our lives better but us.

These are the wrong Filipino mentalities and we don’t want to have that anymore. It is not good for us. We want to be real and we must be real. Stand to who you are and what you are. Even if you don’t have what others have, even if you cannot be good at all things, even if being good loses your faces or being left outside the inner ring. Stand to who you are. That is what lacks from us, our sense of identity. We are always swayed by the influence of what we see is beautiful. We thought that beautiful things are good things but sometimes they aren’t. We must transcend to a higher level of mentality. Be grounded to what we are. We must change these mentalities that makes us mimes. There is a unique in us and we cannot find them unless we stop looking to others. We could be better that imitating, we could create relationships than pretending, we could be accepted than faking, we could be Filipinos, the real one, by grounding, rooting and believing to ourselves and knowing ourselves. Perhaps we might have still a “colonial hang-over”,  our history is still fresh and young and this is not yet the end and we could always create better,. If we could not restore the old one we could create a new one, a better one. We are Filipinos in the making.

John Gio Jastia

The Journey of Juan “Baduy”

by: Dionnie Boy Salanatin

Special Philisophy

Once there was a happy go lucky one named Juan who, unlike his fellows, wears only a simple “barong tagalog” and a pair of “black pants”. Because of his outfit his fellows would oftentimes call Juan “baduy” or unsophisticated, the term for out of style or old fashion, and this makes him feel insecure. However, one day he came across with a “slim fit polo shirt” and a pair of “skinny jeans”. He decided to try them on. The “slim fit polo shirt” and the “skinny jeans” fit him just right; they were neither too big nor too small for him. From then on Juan just decided to leave behind his “barong tagalog” and “black pants” and gets himself feel and look better with his new “slim fit polo shirt” and “skinny jeans” like his fellows. As he went on his journey he came across with the oldest member of the community, “Tatang Mal-am”, who wears only a simple and but old tattered cloak. “Why a sudden change of mind, Juan?”.  He then said in reply “It is now time to leave behind my baduy ways and get along with the new things that life has to offer, just like the others”. “Tatang Mal-am” just gave him a simple smile. Then Juan said to “Tatang Mal-am”, “Why don’t you change too, Tatang,? It is time to try something new”. “Tatang Mal-am” gave Juan a blank stare …

While looking into his eyes, “Tatang Mal-am” clearly understands how Juan felt about his “barong tagalog” and “black pants” and why he chose to forget them. He envisions that Juan always wants to feel accepted and one with his fellows who rejected him because he is different from them. Thus, by changing his clothes Juan left behind his old self and unsophisticated ways which made him “baduy” in the eyes of many. Before his fellows Juan is the perfect epitome of everything which they are not. Juan is their true opposite which is the cause of his being unwanted in the community.

Juan is perfectly aware of his tendencies which actually made him unique from the others. He is not one of them, that is why he would like to get rid of himself and become like the others. To do this Juan must seize being sentimental and become more reasonable instead; become less family oriented and be more focused with himself alone; forget his traditional ways and embrace the modern ones; become less empirical and become more idealistic and rational; to avoid being dependent and make himself more independent.

Thinking that his idea would make him happy, Juan endeavored to unlearn and throw away everything he thought he is, his “baduy” identity, and took in everything that he is not, becoming the “sophisticated” Juan.

“Tatang Mal-am” envisions how Juan became happy as he gained acceptance from his fellows. He is no longer alone and different for he is one of them now. However, the happiness was short-lived. After taking in what he thought could truly make him happy Juan always felt something is not right within him. By then he learns his greatest lesson in life, that is, the value of ones insecurity is not always worth the price of one’s authenticity.

Whether or not Juan would put on again his “barong tagalog” and pair of “black pants”, it is for him to decide, after all there is always a room for change.

… and later on, he said to Juan, “Change could make you not You, but the real You remains…”. Then “Tatang Mal-am” went on with his journey, leaving behind Juan with a smile on his face.

Juan “baduy’s” story about his journey reflects the story of every Juan who thinks that to forget his real identity, by taking-off or controlling his tendencies, is as easy as changing his clothes and start to look and feel good with their his ones. Yet, his effort no matter how great remains only in the level of overcoming his tendencies, what is only external to him. The more essential one still remains and forever will. It is found inside, when one has already stripped off everything.

“WE are (not) Filipino”

In the strict sense, we are not Filipino for the reason that the word “Filipino” is used or refer to the sons/daughters of Spaniards born here in the Philippines. We are called “Indio” in the broadest sense and not “Filipino”. We just claim and adopt the term “Filipino” when the Spaniards left the Philippines. We cannot deny the fact also that we are conquered by different counties especially the Spaniards who controlled us for almost 300 years. The reason why, we have different cultures and traditions being practiced which eventually separated in different regions across the country. We have also different characteristics that gives us uniqueness from other races but this uniqueness we have can be dangerous if we do not try to manage it and know the real scoop of being a Filipino.

If there is something I don’t like most of being a Filipino is that our lack of patriotism/nationalism. Although the term nationalism is a wide perspective but I would to point out of our loyalty and love for our country. Why? If we just have our loyalty and love to our country then we must love those belong to this country like our environment, the citizen, the reputation of the country, the products being produce, and a lot more. If we love our country, then politicians will not just think of themselves, not only for their wellness but for the wellness of their co-Filipinos. I am not against with developments especially in our infrastructures but we must consider what is essential to us being Filipinos. Try to look what happen now, we are importing thousands tons of rice from other countries like Vietnam which we are the one who taught them about farming. There are a lot of illegal activities occurred in our country which affects our nature like illegal fishing, illegal logging, and illegal mining. We are also included for the most corrupt country in the world for the reason that some of our government officials enjoy the money of the country.

One thing that I don’t like also for being a Filipino is our pride (boastful) which is in the negative sense maybe for the reason that there is a boxing show called “Pinoy Pride”. In my experience, my parents, especially my father sometimes shows his pride to other people expressing about us his children. He spoke like this and like that, which he is very expressive about our good achievements which I really don’t like. Naturally, we Filipinos are boastful in order to be accepted in society for the reason that we do everything in order to accept in the society. Economically, the reason why lower class Filipinos became poorer, middle class became stress to find more money and the upper class became richer because middle and lower class do not spend their money wise. How could this be? Middle and lower class use their money to buy car, house, appliances, and other material and personal things in able to be accepted and looked up by the society. They don’t know that all these things they achieve are liabilities and does not generate income but they wanted those things for the sake to be accepted in the society. Education for the lower class is expensive but it is ignorance. Education must be one of the priority of the parents for the reason that this will their precious gift to be inherited to their children.

In the end, our characteristics as Filipino which we imitate from other cultures created a new culture to us which makes us unique from the other races. With all that is happening now in our country, still I am proud of being a Filipino but I am not proud of my government.

-Paul John Depra