UNDERSTANDING THE SELF Module 8 The Political Self and being Filipino PDF

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MODULE 8: The Political Self and Being a FilipinoINTRODUCTIONPrimary Questions: In your opinion, what does it take to be a proud Filipino? Do you think that the Philippines is still living in the shadows of the colonizers?The 1987 Philippine Constitution citizenship of Filipinos are within the Artic...

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MODULE 8: The Political Self and Being a Filipino

INTRODUCTION Primary Questions: In your opinion, what does it take to be a proud Filipino? Do you think that the Philippines is still living in the shadows of the colonizers? The 1987 Philippine Constitution citizenship of Filipinos are within the Article IV Section One

ABSTRACTION Who are Filipinos? How do we distinguish Filipino people from other nationalities? Do physical characteristics such as having dark hair, flat nose and dark complexion enough to tell a person is a Filipino. The person’s physical appearance, language, birth place, and ethnicity are not enough to tell the identity of a person. The colonization of Spaniards, Americans and Japanese made a difference. Could we say that Filipinos have developed their own identity? Values and traits are also important indicators that set apart one nationality from the others. These values are not always positive since it also points out the weaknesses and mistakes but with the unity and commitment, there would be a progress and empowerment through common goals, principles, and values of its people.

WHO IS FILIPINO? Filipinos are often referenced from globally know personalities who have made Filipinos better recognized in the world. Independence Day and Buwan ng Wika celebrations prompt us to go back to our roots. According to the Philippine Constitution, Filipino citizens are those whose fathers or mothers are citizen of the Philippines, those born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino mothers, who elect Philippine citizenship upon reaching the age of majority, and those who are naturalized according to the law. Citizenship – a legal relationship between a person and a country. It can be acquired by birth or naturalization. Jus soli-right of soil Jus sanguinis- right of blood Nationality- the country where you came from

Culture and history have greatly influenced the manner Filipinos learn, live, and behave. People who grew in the same community share the same traits and values. KINDS OF FILIPINO CITIZENS UNDER THE PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of the adoption of this constitution. Natural born citizens Citizens through election Naturalized citizens

HOW CAN YOU BE A NATURAL BORN CITIZEN? According to the Philippine Nationality Law, it is based on “Jus sanguinis.”

FILIPINO VALUES AND TRAITS The Philippines is a lush island paradise famous for its grandiose mountain views, pristine beaches, rich and diverse culture changing from province to province. While the Philippines may be well known for its awe-inspiring beauty, perhaps the Filipinos' unique traits, reputable values, and laudable talents make the Philippines a place to be.

Tourists who have visited the Philippines can never forget the:

Big and Bright smiles that greeted them.

Colorful and loud jeepneys.

Common Filipino phrases such as "Mabuhay!" and "Salamat!"

Habits such as saying "po" at "opo" to the elders.

Leaving shoes or slippers at the front door before entering a house.

Importunate asking of "kumain ka na ba?" meaning "Have you eaten yet?".

Indeed, it is a marvel to experience first-hand these unique traits of the Filipinos.

As Filipinos, we possess the best characteristics in the world. We aren't perfect, but we do have amazing values and traits that everyone should be proud of. As a result, let us recognize that these ideals should be applied to our society in order for it to have a good potential in terms of working for our human upliftment and national betterment

FILIPINO HOSPITALITY Is the most common terminology that describes how Filipino welcome foreigners or tourists who visit the country. It is a pleasure and the country’s honor to accept foreigners as visitors and build genuine relationships and friendship with them. Every country has its differing values, and the Philippines is no exception. One thing that stands out the most about Filipinos is their Hospitality between people from other countries, it has been long term relationship and it grew even more because it gets praised from people who experience it. Many foreigners throughout the years have been fond of the Filipinos because they greet you with a warm welcome when you visit the country. If you go and look at the social medias, there has been tons of documentaries or even vlogs about the Philippines and its people that solidifies the praise we get, and their opinions is actually true. And an important reminder is that you need to have the positivity, optimism and humor so that you can get along with each other. As we all know Hospitality is a Filipino trait that is known everywhere. The Filipinos being hospitable makes the culture of the country outstandingly distinct. It is never taught to an individual because it just naturally comes from within, and when it comes to foreigners who visit our country, we Filipinos always try to accommodate them and make them feel welcome in our country and to not be disrespected as an individual. An article that I found about an American’s perspective about Filipino Hospitality said “Filipino Hospitality goes beyond the friendly treatment of guests or a warm welcome into their home. It is Filipinos welcoming you to their family or in other words, becoming a part of the Filipino Family.” This statement proves that our Hospitality towards foreigners who visit our country is getting the recognition it deserves since we are doing a good job at it. Rest assured, you are bound to get your share of warmth by the Filipinos when you visit the country.

RESPECT FOR ELDERS Respecting elders has always been part of our identity or tradition. A Filipino child is taught to respect older people or family by greeting them and showing a gesture by taking the older relative's hand and placing it on his or her own forehead to express profound respect for the elder called “mano po.” We also have a wide array of references to older people (such as ate, kuya, tita, tito, lolo, and lola) One of the very important words that a younger person must not miss out on is the word ‘po’ or ‘opo’ because forgetting to address older people properly will regard them as rude and impolite. Although there are a lot of ways to show respect, we should always show respect to elders not just by addressing them but by helping, taking care of them and having a respectful conversation with them.

CLOSE FAMILY TIES Filipinos maintain a tight relationship with their families regardless of the children are old enough and already have families of their own family reunions are a common thing for Filipinos extended families exemplify that it's their center, while a nursing home is not practiced Extended Family (Stach Philippines, 2017) are one or more bloodlines living in a house, compound, or community; they genuinely take care of each other as long as they are somewhat biologically connected even after marriage, the couple tends to stick to either of their bloodlines' homes

CHEERFUL PERSONALITY Filipinos have been smiling and laughing a lot and this has been a coping strategy for Filipinos especially during hardships and calamities, maintain a positive outlook in life which makes them resilient.

SELF-SACRIFICE Self-sacrificing is an extension to Filipino hospitality. Filipinos extend their help to their friends and loved ones. They even go to the extent of working abroad to earn more money and save up for them. Overseas Filipino Workers(OFW) sacrificed a lot that’s why they are regarded as the modern day Filipino heroes.

BAYANIHAN Is a Filipino word derived from the word bayan meaning town, nation, or community in general. It literally means, “being a bayan,” and is thus used to refer to a spirit of communal unity and cooperation. It is also a Filipino core value that inspires the community to be living heroes to each other. It is not the celebration of the strengths of an individual mighty hero, but is the practice of helping a kababayan, a member of the community who is in need, and it showcases what Filipinos can do together. Bayanihan is also known as tulongan or damayan, a system of mutual help and concern which has become the backbone of family and village throughout the Philippine archipelago. It may also be expressed as pagkakaisa and the people who get together or unite to execute a job are the magbabayani.

Bayanihan during the time when most Filipinos lived in nipa huts is referred to as the cooperative spirit of neighbors carrying a hut or house to a new location. But In today’s age, the term has been adopted to refer to local civil efforts; regular Filipinos working together to uplift fellow compatriots. Bayanihan as an example of this would be Brigada Eskwela which was enacted during the time of President Ramos, which is a nationwide voluntary effort that was first established in 2003. A program of DepEd which aims to address resource gaps faced by the Department through strengthening partnerships with local communities. The program mobilizes and brings together thousands of parents, alumni, civic groups, local businesses, non-government organizations, teachers and individuals who volunteer their time and skills to do classroom repairs, maintenance work, and clean-up of public elementary and secondary schools.

"BAHALA NA" ATTITUDE One of the most commonly used phrases in the Philippines is bahala na. This phrase has been so overused that it is sometimes used as a natural reaction. When Filipinos are unable to decide their next course of action or have no idea what will happen next, they commonly say "Bahala na." They say it as if all they want to do is go with the flow, regardless of the consequence.

“Bahala Na” is the Filipino version of the famous line Hakuna Matata which means "no worries".

Hakuna Matata is a Swahili phrase that means "there are no difficulties,"

Hakuna = "there's not here"

Matata = "problems or troubles”

Hakuna Matata can be translated as "all is fine" or "everything is alright."

The phrase “Bahala na” originated from "Bathala na"

Bathala means God and the phrase means leaving everything to God's hand.

It can also be viewed as something similar to the cheerful and positive attitude of Filipinos and allowing situations to take care of themselves instead of worrying about them.

The Filipinos' pag-asa is an extension of their bahala na attitude, which encourages them to rely on the future positively rather than negatively.

It becomes a coping mechanism in the face of risky activities. This attitude is evidence of a deterministic mindset from this perspective.

COLONIAL MENTALITY Colonial mentality is defined as the perception of ethnic and cultural inferiority and a form of internalized racial oppression. This is one of the negative traits that we are viewed as. It is regarded as the lack of patriotism or supporting one’s own nationality. This does not only concern goods, but the desire to look more foreign than local and keep up with foreign beauty trends are included. It is attributed to the centuries of colonization Filipinos had experienced under the Spanish, American, and Japanese rule. One good illustration could be by watching too much foreign drama series like Korean drama or Hollywood movie, Filipino people tend to unnoticed the adaption of others’ culture and way of behaving.

MANANA HABIT Filipino term for procrastination originated from the Spanish word "mañana," which means tomorrow the delay of priorities to do other activities or simply in Filipino phrase "mamaya na" a bad habit passed down to the current generation to the current generation by the Spaniards (Ron Arabit, 2013)

TYPES OF PROCRASTINATION (ARABIT,2013) Structured Procrastinator prioritizes wanted activities instead of needed to do tasks Active Procrastinator rushes tasks within the last minute Couch Potato Procrastinator does leisurely activities for the rest of the day such as watching TV, reading a non-academic novel, browsing the internet, etc.

NINGAS KUGON Ningas- flame Kugon- Cogon grass The attitude of eagerly staring things, but quickly losing eagerness soon after experiencing difficulty just as fast as the fire ignited. Laziness- common problem of the Filipinos that’s why they are regarded as “Juan Tamad” or “Lazy Juan.”

PRIDE Is an assertion that the people and culture should promote the interest of the Philippines by developing and maintaining a national identity based on largely shared characteristics such as language, race, religion or political goals. It is also when Filipino consider the success of Philippine citizens or foreigners of Philippine descent–such as boxer Manny Pacquiao, chess prodigy Wesley and so on, as a national achievement since they were able to accomplish things with they’re amazing talent like being on national television broadcast.

People’s notions of “Pinoy Pride,” after all, often stems from a long history of Pinoy humiliation of being told we were second class, alongside being exploited and held back to such an extent that our inferiority seemed natural. People have looked at international validation as a way to affirm their sense of national worth and by accepting Pinoy pride, we reinforce the power of others to validate us, unwittingly perpetuating our marginality. The foreign validation that stems from our pride is exploited by unscrupulous entities, such as those who extract huge fees for children and adults alike to participate in some international event, or get some foreign certificate. And because, in turn, the resentment for this “foreign validation” is then capitalized on by racists who insists on a narrow definition of what constitute is.

Pride as we know is a trait that almost all Filipinos have, it is sometimes viewed as corrupt or as a vice, sometimes as a proper or a virtue. We have something called Pinoy Pride, it promotes the Filipino national identity and shared characteristics and exhibits the country’s race and culture only when a Filipino athlete or beauty queen takes the international spotlight. It may seem positive on the surface to others but in reality, it can be unhinged and misplaced because of the superiority complex that we show towards one another.

CRAB MENTALITY Crabs, as we all know, are a type of sea creature or seafood that is commonly found around seashores, and Talangka is a little crab. When you put a lot of crabs/talangka in a container, you'll notice that they all want to climb to the top, with one crab dragging down the other to be in his place, and only a few of them are able to escape and survive. Just like crabs in a container, Filipinos pull each other down and ruin each other's reputation rather than bringing them up, which results in no progress.

Crab Mentality is a toxic trait among Filipinos where one resents the achievement of another instead of feeling happy for that person. This is one of the negative traits of Filipinos. This mindset occurs when someone desires to always be the greatest, to be the highest of all, and to believe that no one can compare to his thoughts and abilities. They have a motto in life of…”Why should you have it, if I can't?” Filipinos should change this troublesome attitude and focus more on their own inadequacies in order to improve one's self.

Signs that a person has a Crab Mentality: 1.They are too proud of themselves and treat others as inferior beings. You can sense a breeze of arrogance from people with crab mentality. When they earn some achievements of their own, whether big or small, they brag it to everyone to position themselves higher from the rest of the Filipinos. And that is why they will always look down on you, especially if you’re a Filipino who came from the province or a “probinsyano/probinsyana”. They can be racist to their own race, the Filipinos.

2. They panic when their comrades are happy and improving. Aside from arrogance, you can also smell envy, jealousy and bitterness from these kinds of people. They freak out when the people they look down on are rising or progressing beyond them. It gives them a terrible feeling of insecurity. That’s why they will try to pull them down, either by harsh words or by unkind actions.

3. They are full of positivity for themselves but full of negativity for others. They only see the good things in themselves, but they’re blind when it comes to their negative characteristics. When it comes to how they view other people, it becomes the opposite. They only see the bad things of other people while they’re blind to their positivedeeds.

4. They treat their comrades as competitors. It seems like the words unity and cooperation are not in their vocabulary. They always treat other Filipinos as competitors instead of teammates. You can find this kind of person everywhere. In a basketball team, in your office, and even in a cooperative organization, they could be there.

5. They don’t know a thing about compassion. Compassion is a great virtue that enables us to understand the feelings of other people. But people with crab mentality lack compassion. They are inconsiderate and ignorant of the many people they are offending. They only care for themselves.

FILIPINO TIME punctuality is a rare thing to Filipinos they have this common attitude of arriving late at commitments, dinner, or parties especially if they are meeting someone close to them Filipinos refer to being late as Filipino time it spanned from the Spanish era when siesta was brought to the Philippines; even though Filipinos know the World Standard Time, they would still proceed to continue on their own time (Tin Valerio, 2016)

Siesta (Valerio, 2016) means taking a nap in the midday, which may result in being late in meet-ups of occasions and other social activities

FILIPINO MARKERS PROVERBS OR SALAWIKAIN Proverbs are traditional sayings or concise expressions of fundamental principles used by Filipinos based on local culture, wisdom, philosophies from Filipino life/

It conveys a lesson and reflection on Filipino practices, beliefs, and traditions. It corresponds to the word salawikain, kasabihan or saying. Proverbs are utilized to emphasize a point or a thought of reasoning: the Filipino philosophy.

Six categories of Filipino Proverbs according to Damiana L. Eugenio: a. Proverbs expressing a general attitude towards life and the laws that govern life b. Ethical proverbs recommending certain virtues and condemning certain vices; c. Proverbs expressing a system of values; d. Proverbs expressing general truths and observations about life and human nature; e. Humorous proverbs; and f. Miscellaneous proverbs

SUPERSTITIONS Filipinos also subscribe to their own set of superstitions passed down from generation to generation. Some of these beliefs may be influenced by beliefs from other cultures, but Filipinos have retold these superstitions according to their own experiences and they sometimes end up even more interesting. Superstitions that hold to ancient beliefs and traditions are still popular in today's Filipino culture. Some may be humorous, while others may be strange. According to an article, superstitions originate from the belief that most early Filipinos worshiped many gods, creatures, and spirits. They worship them through a variety of rituals, sacrifices, and practices. Religious beliefs and customs in the Philippines have shifted from animism to Christianity as a result of the country's long history of colonization. Filipino superstitions continue to have an impact on everyday life, ranging from fortune, love, and marriage to family, disease, and death, despite the union of animism and Christianity.

Some examples of most common superstitious beliefs in the Philippines: A woman singing while cooking will end up spinster according to a Filipino superstition so parents remind their daughters to a...