High school freshmen react to Ako ay Pilipino. Ano'ng ibig sabihin nito?

Last March at the conclusion of the school year I wrote a series of articles entitled “Ako ay Pilipino. Anong ibig sabihin nito?” (I am a Filipino. What does this mean?) The high school freshmen class reacted enthusiastically since their History subject is on the Philippines.

Let me quote some excerpts of the article. Sabi nila, “The Philippines has a damaged culture.” Tama kaya na ang kultura natin ay napinsala? Intindihin muna natin ang ibig sabihin ng kultura. (Is it true that we have a damaged culture? Let’s first understand the elements of culture. Who are we? How do we think? What do we do?)

Pantay pantay ang karapatan ng lahat ng mga bansa ngunit may kani-kaniyang kalupaan at klima, kasaysayan at sariling halaman, hayop at mineral. (Mankind is supposed to have equal rights but each country has its own geography, history, endemic plants, animals and minerals.) Let me cite the Philippines as an example.

Noong unang panahon tayo ay libu-libong kapuluan na walang pangalan. Lumulutang sa pagitan ng Pacific Ocean at China Sea. Nasa paligid natin ang Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Burma (Myanmar), Malaysia, Indonesia at Brunei. Noong nasakop tayo ng Kastila, noon lang nabigyan tayo ng pangalan, Las Islas Pilipinas, alang alang sa kanilang Haring Felipe II. (Long ago we were a thousand islands or archipelago without a name, floating between the Pacific Ocean and China Sea. Our neighbors were Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. When we were colonized by Spain we were given the name Las Islas Filipinas in honor of their king, Felipe II.)

While Europe and the Americas have four seasons of winter, spring, summer and autumn, Asia Pacific countries just have the dry and rainy seasons. Our clothes are therefore made of lighter fabrics. Our camisa tsino, sarong and saya are influenced by Chinese, Indonesian, Indian traders who flocked to our shores. Meantime our oversea workers in western countries are learning to wear woolen clothes, gloves and boots.

Paanong naubos ang biyaya ng ating Archipelago?

Paanong naubos ang biyaya ng ating Archipelago? (How did we lose our natural resources? What caused our impoverishment?)

With a long coastline and the abundance of mountains and rivers our basic needs for food, clothing and shelter were adequately met. Most of our countrymen were farmers and fishermen since the Spanish colonization. Then, our population was less than a million. In 1946, when we became independent from America, there were about 20 million Filipinos. Today we are almost 100 million people.

Naghihirap na ang ating bayan. Salat sa kaalaman. Padami ng padami ang mag-anak. Hindi na sapat ang pagkain, pananamit at pamumuhay. Hindi na kayang pag-aralin ang lahat. Sa pagnanais na huwag magutom, minadali ang pangingisda. Sa halip na turuan sila na pag-ingatan ang mga pugad na coral reefs at seagrass ng mga laman dagat pinabayaan silang gumamit ng dynamite at cyanide. Sa bukid naman ay gumamit ng inorganic na pataba. Mabilis nga at marami ang ani ngunit nalason naman ang lupa at namatay ang suso at bulig na pangtawid gutom ng malaking pamilya.

(So much has changed in the Philippines, particularly in the provinces. Illiteracy worsened. Birth rate has increased tremendously. Access to quality education has become more difficult. Food, health services and employment are inadequate. Instead of training the fishermen to care for the coral beds and seagrass which nourish the fishes, the use of dynamite and cyanide was tolerated. The use of inorganic fertilizers poisoned the fields and the edible snails and minnows which fed big families disappeared.)

Comments of the high school freshmen students

I posed three aspects of my column for these 12- to 13-year old freshmen students to consider, namely: a general impression; concept of a “damaged culture”; and what it means to be a Filipino. This is the summary .

Dayan Tan: “I think what the Ambassador said is right. She helped us envision what we are and what we will be. If we don’t take care of our country we abuse God’s gifts and we will regret it.”

Nicola J. Gio remarked, “Long ago we were rich in culture and natural resources but after a time they withered. I am happy that the author has made us proud to be a Filipino because there are times when you want to forget that you are one because of the humiliating political news that are televised all around the world.”

For Erica Kristensen, who is half Danish: The use of Pilipino translated into English made her appreciate better our local language. She feels that the culture will continuously be damaged if the government fails to uphold justice and righteousness.

Joshua Santos: “It has many lessons for the youth to remember one’s heritage and culture, to stand for one’s rights while respecting the differences of other cultures.”

‘Impressions of our damaged culture’

True, the Philippines has a damaged culture. Many of us do not understand what our culture is. The Philippines used to be beautiful and clean. Now it’s destroyed. Even the Filipinos have changed. They are damaging the country by deforestation, crimes, poaching of animals, illegal drugs, etc. Copying other foreign ways shows that we do not cherish our own culture as much. Dayan Tan: “Our culture is hurt when we patronize foreign products instead of our own. This discourages and slows down local production. I wish government would limit imports and instead put more effort into agriculture production. That’s what Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia do so they easily develop their uniqueness through fashion and culinary culture. They have character that draws millions of tourists to them. Nicola J. Gio says “Our local heritage dances accompanied by our guitars and percussion instruments are very well known. But sad to say, we the youth are drawn more to hip hop, modern dancing and western musical instruments. We Filipinos are forgetting our culture because we want to be hip.”

John Timothy wrote: Example of a “damaged culture” is the Maguindanao massacre where one of two Muslim families who are related but differing in politics slaughtered the other. Being Muslim brothers did not prevent the Ampatuans (favored by the previous government leader) to ambush the Mangudadatus and the 34 journalists accompanying them.

I think being Filipino is great

Pride in one’s country and everything good including our heroes, many of them unknown, who gave their lives to protect our freedom. . . That’s “being a true Filipino.” We must be responsible citizens honoring our parents and elders by doing our best in school so we can continue their legacy of nation building. We must understand our environment, protecting constantly our biodiversity from pollution, disposing garbage properly, respecting the properties of others, abiding by traffic rules and being a good neighbor.

For me being born in the Philippines and having brown skin is not what makes a Filipino but simply adapting Filipino traits of respectfulness, loyalty, having close family ties, being hospitable and religious. Erika Jane Cruz Yao says “Filipinos are survivors. We fight to survive the changing world. To be a Filipino is to be strong in God, in hope. The Filipinos are the most humble, respectful and happy people. It’s not because I am a Filipino. These are my personal views. Aiko Suzuki a Japanese meanwhile states, “A lot of calamities have come and we are still here because of “bayanihan.” One of the Philippine values is to help and cherish others. I THINK BEING FILIPINO IS GREAT!