REFLECTION: Speak Positively of our Race and our Country...

Not too long ago, I received two e-mails that made me so furious. The first one, "Super Pinay," was supposedly a collection of several beautiful (pageant) contestants from different countries. While flipping through each folio of these stunning women, I anticipated seeing a Mutya ng Pilipinas, only to find myself staring at a picture of a naked, wrinkled, old Asian woman under the Miss Philippines caption. I was not even sure if she was indeed from our country. I was so angry; I traced the sender as far back as I could, noted how far the e-mail traveled through several computers around the world and read not only by Filipinos but an array of various nationalities.

I told the sender, a young girl from Manila, "Would you still send it if it were the naked picture of your own mother or your grandmother? Your e-mail was sent around the world and read by several non-Filipinos. What you did was very unpatriotic and a great disservice to our country." Her answer was, "I was sorry I offended you but I just sent this (material) to my friends for fun." For her, it was just for fun but why was I not laughing?

The second e-mail was from my nephew in Manila, 'The Police Cars of the World," a collection of various police cars from different countries. Instead of the real police cars, the models from other countries were that of the most expensive, high performance sport cars around while the one shown for the Philippines was a picture of a junked, dilapidated 'Manila's Finest.'

I was so incensed to say the least. It was tasteless and an awful way to advertise our country to the world. I told my nephew he had accomplished nothing yet to earn the right to present the Philippines in such a negative manner. Fearing my ire, and probably a cut of my financial assistance, he did not say anything but some cousins from California who were equally guilty argued that I should 'chill out,' for it was just a joke. Probably they were right but I felt betrayed whenever I see, hear or read any put down on our country, more so to fellow Filipinos.

-oOo-

In reflection, can we make a conscious effort to stop this self-bashing, this self-flagellation for fun?' Is it possible to focus instead on the positive aspects of our national being and talk about the many good things about ourselves as a people and as a nation?

I know it is not easy especially when we have a former president who is in prison for corruption. And it seems odd when thousands of Filipinos are trying to get out of the country every year to escape the abject poverty around and the seemingly hopeless way in dealing with the perceived waste and incompetence in our government.

While I was in Manila early this year, a very dear friend gave me a book, 12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do to Help Our Country, by Atty. Alexander Lacson. The book was written for Filipinos in the Philippines but there are several chapters that are more applicable to us who live in other countries since we have the most opportunities to interact with non-Filipinos. In fact this topic was covered in Chapter 4 -When you talk to others, especially Foreigners, Speak Positively of our Race and our Country."

Sick as it was, Atty. Lacson gave details to some of the reasons why our way of having fun was eschewed, to quote, "...we are indeed a people who constantly talk negative things about our country and ourselves. I don't know where we got this. Perhaps, as Jose Rizal implied, from the Spaniards and Friars who laughed aloud, if not boisterously, when they criticized the Philippine islands and the Indios. The mestizos and some sipsip natives laughed with them. When the Mestizos and Friars left after Spain sold and ceded the Philippines to America in 1898, the mestizos and some prosperous natives continued the tradition of self-bashing- laughing at our defects and faults. ...... "

But the Spaniards who gave our last names, the Mañanas, the Siestas, and the Señoritos y Señoritas were long gone although these bastardos produced our Aguinaldo, Mabini, Del Pilar and the Lunas, among the many great heroes of our past.

Instead, we have the modern heroes who made us proud. There is one Nestor Sulpico, the NY taxi driver who drove 43 miles to Connecticut to return a US$78,000 Micronesian black pearl jewelry to an owner who left it in his cab. He was honored at the Taxi and Limousine Commission's Driver Recognition Ceremony in New York.

How about Patricia Evangelista, a UP Mass Communication sophomore, who won the International Public Speaking Competition conducted by English Speaking Union in London, England in 2004?

Dr. Josette T. Biyo won the Intel Excellence in Teaching Award from among five finalists from China and the United States. A master and doctoral degree holder, she left a potential lucrative job in Manila to become a teacher at the Philippine Science High School-Western Visayas, receiving a tenth of a janitor's pay in North America.

Less we forget, the 4.8 million Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW's) who, according to Ruth Gonsaga of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, remitted through the banks US$10.7 billion to the Philippine economy in 2005. They are called heroes because their remittances were a major factor behind the country's economic survival since the eighties. OFW's provide also the capital needed by their families to become entrepreneurs in the Philippines. This way, their savings are not wasted on consumer products, but earn profits so that ultimately, these can be employed to buy even more consumer products.

How about the tens of thousands of nurses, software engineers, medical staff, accountants and caregivers who provide the necessary skills that nourish the hungry developing and rich nations around the world? These Filipinos are my heroes and we should be proud of them.

Atty. Lacson touched also on issues that made our forefathers saw red. The Spaniards and friars often shouted, even in public, Tanga, Bobo or Tamad at the poor Indios. Unfortunately, this repulsive attitude was handed down to their children, and their children's children, so we are here today, people who have no faith in ourselves; and hence, the self-flagellation. In fact, our parents and elders accused us of arrogance if we show self-confidence and self determination among our peers.

Do we really need a revolution to correct this cultural mistake? Atty. Lacson believes so. However, speaking positive about our country and our race needs only a change in attitude. Filipinos around the world are good and dedicated workers. That's a plus. Most of our children are top of their classes, something that we should be proud of, all the time, always.

So what if I was one of the 10 million or so Filipinos who gave up fighting and decided to seek the proverbial greener pasture somewhere else? I was not guilty of spitting on the graves of our heroes who died to get rid of the Spaniards and even the Americans who raped our freedom and natural resources. Why? Because I am still hopeful of our Philippines and I am a very proud Filipino.

Gerry Villareal

November 2006