A Cultural Resume of The Philippines - Essay Example

The Philippines: A Cultural Resume The Philippines is an archipelago located in Southeast Asia that is composed of more than seven thousand islands (The Columbia Encyclopedia 37343). Known as “The Pearl of the Orient,” the Philippines is popular for its beaches and mountainous regions that have become tourist attractions for many Europeans and Americans. The famous Boracay Island and Amanpulo are known to be visited by celebrities for relaxation and professional divers for their rich underwater life. Mount Apo, the highest peak in the country measuring 9,690 feet located in Mindanao, is one of the Philippines’ tourist spots, especially for mountain climbers (InfoPease.com). Aside from the beautiful landscapes and seascapes, the country is also known for its people’s warmth and hospitable nature. This paper aims to explore the Philippines as a nation, its people, and its cultural and historical diversities in order to present a comprehensive look at the country’s resume. The Nation The Philippines is a nation rich, not only in natural resources, but also in culture as it has been colonized by many countries, including the United States. The country’s land and climate will be discussed next in order to present its lure to colonizers, as well as its history. The present situation of the country, in terms of its economy, educational system, and its government, will also be discussed later on. Land and Climate (Image Source: Wikimedia) As seen above, the Philippines is bordered by the Philippine Sea to the East, the South China Sea to the West and the Celebes Sea to the South. “The Philippines extend 1,152 mi (1,855 km) from north to south, between Taiwan and Borneo, and 688 mi (1,108 km) from east to west” (The Columbia Encyclopedia 37343). The country is divided into the three largest regions of Luzon, Vizayas and Mindanao (The Columbia Encyclopedia 37343). The country’s capital, Manila, is located in Central Luzon. Metro Manila is also where the largest cities and business districts of the country is located like Makati City and Quezon City. The land, because it is mostly of volcanic origin, is characterized as mountainous, with narrow coastal plains, wide valleys, dense forests, and mineral and hot springs (The Columbia Encyclopedia 37343). Because the Philippines is located within the tropical zone, its climate is like that of the countries of Central America (The Columbia Encyclopedia 37343 and PAGASA). The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) states that Philippine climate can be divided into only two major seasons: the rainy (from June to November) and the dry (from December to May) seasons. “The coolest months fall in January with a mean temperature of 25.5o C while the warmest month occurs in May with a mean temperature of 28.3o C” (PAGASA). Because of the location and climate of the country, it is a prime target for natural disasters like typhoons, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, droughts, and landslides (Bankoff 31). In fact, it has been found to have experienced more natural calamities than any other country for the period of 1900-1991 (Bankoff 31). History and Government The Philippine Islands was first inhabited by Malayan immigrants who traveled by boat from Malaysia and Indonesia 30,000 years ago (Library of Congress – Federal Research Division 1). The Indonesian boats, termed as barangay (which is now used in the vernacular to mean a community or neighborhood, the smallest unit of modern societal division recognized by the government), docked in the Sulu Islands located in Mindanao (Library of Congress – Federal Research Division 1-2). Because of this, the Mindanao Islands was introduced to the Islam faith (5%), which is still the major religion in the region at present (Library of Congress – Federal Research Division 2). However, the other parts of the country later on became Christianized with the coming of the Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who is recognized for giving the name Filipinas for King Philip II, and the major religion of the country remains Roman Catholicism (83%) until today (Library of Congress – Federal Research Division 2). The Spaniards then colonized the country for a period of 333 years, with only the Mindanao region, occupied by the Muslims, successful in resisting the colonizers (Library of Congress – Federal Research Division 2). During the Spanish Era of Colonization, Chinese traders started to migrate to the country due to business reasons. During the late 19th century, Filipinos began to fight for freedom. Heroes of the Philippine Revolution include Jose Rizal (considered to be the National Hero of the country), Andres Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini, and Emilio Aguinaldo. The end of Spanish Rule was marked by another colonizer entering the Philippine shores. With the defeat of Spain in the Spanish-American War in 1898 and the succeeding signing of the Treaty of Paris, which surrendered the Philippines under American Rule, tensions abound between the guerillas and the colonizers (Library of Congress – Federal Research Division 3). The Revolutionary Government, under the leadership and presidency of Emilio Aguinaldo, then issued a Declaration of Independence in June 12, 1898—the recognized Independence Day of the Philippines (Library of Congress – Federal Research Division 3). The United States maintained a generally friendly relationship with the Filipinos, after the defeat of Aguinaldo, and they claimed that their period of colonization is divided into two phases and that they will give the Filipinos back their independence once they see that the country is ready to stand alone. “The first phase was from 1898 to 1935, during which time Washington defined its colonial mission as one of tutelage and preparing the Philippines for eventual independence;” and the second phase, from 1936-1946, “was characterized by the establishment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and occupation by Japan during World War II” (Library of Congress – Federal Research Division 3-4). The American Era was shortened when the Japanese invaded the Philippines during World War 2 when the combined Filipino and American forces were defeated in the Fall of Bataan. The Japanese Period was characterized by cruelty and maltreatment of the Filipino people with many Filipino women being raped and termed as comfort women and with the Bataan Death March and the Death Camp known as Camp O’Donnell, which killed an estimated number of 25,000 Filipinos and more than 2,000 Americans (Gordon). On September 2, 1945, the Japanese troops surrendered to General Douglas MacArthur, who is considered to be a hero in Philippine history (Library of Congress – Federal Research Division 4). The liberation of the Philippines from the hands of the Japanese paved the way for the country’s independence from the U.S., which was given on July 4, 1946 and the day that Manuel Roxas was sworn in as the first president of the independent Philippines (Library of Congress – Federal Research Division 4). Many presidents followed after that and most notable of all is Ferdinand Marcos, who ruled for 20 years (1965-1986), and was labeled as a dictator who governed the country under Martial Law (Library of Congress – Federal Research Division 5). The famous EDSA People Power on February 25, 1986 overthrew the Marcos dictatorship and Corazon C. Aquino—the wife of exiled political leader Ninoy Aquino—was sworn in as the first woman president of the country (Library of Congress – Federal Research Division 5-6). Although the Aquino administration had a lot of coup attempts and conflicts, she was able to hand over a democratic republic government to then President-elect Fidel V. Ramos and the country surged as the Tiger Economy. The government system of the country remains the same, with the President as the Head of State within a multi-party system. The Philippine Administration consists of the Office of the President (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Executive Branch), the House of Representatives (The legislative Branch), the Senate, the Supreme Court and other Provincial Courts (Judicial Branch) the various local governments of the cities and provinces (InfoPlease.com). The People It has been said that the Filipinos are one of the most adjusted and malleable people in the world as they are more open to change and can adjust well to any climate or place. In fact, there are many Filipino communities scattered all over the globe, with the United States having a large percentage of Filipino migration. Filipinos are also very hospitable and they welcome foreigners and treat them respectfully. The country is also recognized as one of the most populous countries in the world, with 76.5 million citizens at the last May 2000 Census, and an estimated 86.2 million in 2005 (Library of Congress – Federal Research Division 9). One of the reasons why the country is a tourist hotspot is because its official languages include English (the other is Filipino or Tagalog) and even with numerous dialects like Cebuano and Ilonggo, most of the Filipinos know how to speak English and can understand the language (Library of Congress – Federal Research Division 9). English is the medium of instruction for universities, colleges, and private and public schools—with the exception of the state university, the University of the Philippines, which promotes the Filipino language. Filipinos value a good education and the Department of Education shows that 97% (12.9 million) of the school-age population have enrolled in schools—12 million in public schools and 910,000 in private schools (Library of Congress – Federal Research Division 9). It is not surprising that the literacy rate of the country is high, with the simple literacy rate at 93.4% and functional literacy rate at 84.1% by the year end of 2005 (Library of Congress – Federal Research Division 9). General Attitudes and Values With the above-mentioned passion of Filipinos for studying, it is not unexpected for Filipino parents to have a strict disposition towards studying in that parents are even competitive when it comes to the educational achievements of their children (Agbayani-Siewert 39). The Filipinos, because they adjust well, have many modern values and attitudes in that men and women are mostly treated equally—gender discrimination is still present, but frowned upon and mostly old people are the ones who still believe in the “men are the stronger sex” ideology (Agbayani-Siewert 39). Where before women are supposed to just stay at home and have a mahinhin (shy and demure) disposition, Filipinas now are modern working women with liberal views about their place in the world (Businessworld). However, despite the modernization of the image of women and their place in society, many ethnic groups and the people in the provinces still maintain a patriarchal type of family, wherein the father’s word is considered as a law that cannot be broken; and he is considered as the disciplinarian who employs spanking as a form of punishment (Agbayani-Siewert 39). The Filipinos have a lot of very distinct attitudes and values that can be used both negatively and positively, depending on how it is practiced (Gorospe). A very good example of this is blind faith in God and fate (the bahala na attitude), which is a form of “escape from decision-making and social responsibility” in that some Filipinos leave their lives up to God and their fate—anyway, whatever happens will happen and God will take care of us (Gorospe). Filipinos value religion so much that sometimes it is detrimental to their well-being in that their faith becomes so blind and they depend heavily on God’s blessings (Gorospe). In sort of the same way, Filipinos believe in swerte or good luck in that they tend to gamble a lot and buy lotto tickets in the hopes of becoming lucky and winning it big. Family The Filipino family is close-knit and a household is usually composed of extended family members like grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins (Posadas 45). The Filipino has a very strong sense of family and it is a value that is brought wherever the Filipino goes (Posadas 45). Typically, the father is considered as the head of the family—although the truth is that the mother is the one who holds the purse strings and makes most of the major household and family decisions (Posadas 45). This is what is called the father being under the saya, which literally means that the father is under the skirt of the mother or that the dominant parent is the mother (Posadas 46). The parents are disciplinarians who instill in their children the value of hiya, which literally means shame—this is a sense of inhibition in that for instance, children will behave properly especially when in someone else’s house (Posadas 46). There is also a sense of favoritism in the Filipino family, where the most successful is the favorite. Although there have been many occasions that the favorite is the last born child or the bunso (Posadas 46). Courtship and Marriage In line with the values mentioned above and the familial structure and characteristics of Filipinos, courtship and marriage is a very serious decision that is planned together—by both sides of the family, where it is even customary for disputes to occur between the two families over the wedding plans—with a formal and lavish church wedding, as most of the population is Roman Catholic (Businessworld). Panliligaw or courtship traditionally involves the man doing errands and chores for the woman’s family (Businessworld). However, this type of courtship is not anymore practiced in modern times, although some of the tradition still remains in that the man, for example, cannot say no to favors being asked of them by the girl’s family. Although the modern Filipino woman is not expected anymore to be mahinhin, many Filipinas still play hard to get and many still save themselves for marriage, even if they marry at 30 years of age, although modern Filipinas have already adopted the American way of courtship and relationship. Customs and Courtesies Filipinos are very warm and emotional. Thus, it is customary for modern Filipinos to kiss each other on the cheeks whenever they see each other in social gatherings. The sign of respect for elders used by every Filipino are the words po and opo (“100 Best things about being Pinoy”). These words are incorporated in sentences and is also a more respectful form of yes, like when a dad asks his son if he has done his homework, the reply is opo for yes and hindi po for no. Another way that Filipinos show respect is through the act of mano, which is when a young person places the hand of an elderly person on his or her forehead—sort of like a variation of kissing the ring (“100 Best things about being Pinoy”). Filipinos mostly have a tan complexion termed as moreno and are usually of small build, with flat noses and almond-shaped brown or black eyes. Because Filipinos are usually short, there is the custom of jumping during New Year’s as the clock strikes 12mn. Old people say that this would make the children grow taller. Also, unlike Americans who open gifts on Christmas morning, Filipinos celebrate Noche Buena, which is a feast held after the clock strikes 12 on Christmas Day and is followed by the gift-giving and opening of presents, or vise versa. Political and Religious Holidays Being a religious country, Filipinos celebrate the feast day of saints, called a fiesta. For instance, in the city of San Juan, there are no classes during the feast day of St. John the Baptist on June 24 (Northern Illinois University). Other notable religious holidays are All Souls’ Day and All Saints’ Day (October 31 and November 1, respectively), wherein Filipinos rush in throngs to the cemetery to spend the day—and even the night—with their departed loved ones (dela Trinidad); Holy Thursday and Good Friday, during which the people are either in vacation hot spots or are in prayer mode (Northern Illinois University); and of course, Christmas day. Public holidays include February 25 to commemorate the EDSA Revolution—EDSA is the name of the main highway throughout Metro Manila; Bonifacio Day, the celebration of the birthday of Andres Bonifacio (November 30); Rizal Day, December 30, and the execution of the National hero Jose Rizal (Library of Congress – Federal Research Division 1). Lifestyle The Philippines is a third world country that has failed to keep up with the economies of other Southeast Asian nations like Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan (Library of Congress – Federal Research Division 10). It is considered as one of the poorest country in Asia, where before, after World War II, it is one of the richest (Library of Congress – Federal Research Division 10). The country is plagued by many economic crises as the trend is that the rich becomes richer and the poor, poorer. The urban areas of Manila and Cebu City are more profitable than most of the provinces, which amounted to just US$1,080 per capita gross national income, which was “below the US$1,390 average for lower-middle-income countries” in 2003 (Library of Congress – Federal Research Division 11). The health problems of the country only present a huge challenge for the government as, according to Library of Congress – Federal Research Division (10): The leading causes of morbidity as of 2002 were diarrhea, bronchitis, pneumonia, influenza, hypertension, tuberculosis, heart disease, malaria, chicken pox, and measles. Cardiovascular diseases account for more than 25 percent of all deaths. According to official estimates, 1,965 cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) were reported in 2003, of which 636 had developed acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). The onslaught of international call center businesses into the country has provided the Filipinos with more work. Since it is an English-speaking nation, many people are given an opportunity to earn big and even to climb the corporate ladder and even visit or migrate to other countries. Despite the tragic state of the economy and the health of the people, Filipinos still love to have fun. Videoke restaurants and bars where cheap beer can be bought and where people can sing their worries away are hit after-work night spots. Filipinos love to gather their barkadas (group of friends) together for a night out, drinking and talking among themselves, making jokes and laughing out their troubles. Because most Filipinos have cellular phones—in fact, the phone models are more advanced and hi-tech than in the United States—the technology of texting became a nationwide phenomenon in that everyone uses text messaging to forward jokes and to communicate with each other. The internet has also become a part of modern Filipino life, although there are still many computer-illiterate citizens. Internet chat and video conferencing with the use of webcams have become important tools that they use to communicate with their friends and family abroad. Filipinos also love to eat out and fast food restaurants like Jollibee and McDonald’s are favorite places to go to after Sunday mass. The working class, on the other hand, eats at more affordable places like carinderias, which are small stalls beside the road that sell cooked meals. In Metro manila, heavy traffic is very common, and some say this is proof that there are still many wealthy Filipinos who can afford nice cars. But the main roads are also lined with many public transportation buses and jeepneys (a form of metal jeep that has evolved from the military jeeps during the war era) and the streets are lined with tricycles and pedicabs (bikes with passenger carriers) that are symbols that people are poor enough to commute. Conclusion It can be seen, through the exposition of the Filipino culture and dynamics, that the Filipinos are a distinct nationality with many distinct characteristics that makes them very much unique. Even though they can adapt easily to other foreign cultures, a Filipino will still recognize another Filipino wherever they are. Works Cited Agbayani-Siewert, Pauline. “Assumptions of Asian American Similarity: The Case of Filipino and Chinese American Students.” Social Work. 49.1 (2004). Bankoff, Greg. Cultures of Disaster: Society and Natural Hazards in the Philippines. London, Routledge, 2002. Businessworld. Love Courtship in Filipino Culture. 14 February 2002. 11 December 2007 . Dela Trinidad, Karen A. All Souls Day Special. 11 December 2007 . Gordon, Richard M. Bataan, Corregidor, and the Death March: In Retrospect. 28 October 2002. 11 December 2007 . Gorospe, Vitaliano R. (S.J.). “Understanding the Filipino Value System.” Ateneo de Manila University. 11 December 2007 . InfoPlease.com. “Philippines.” 2007. 11 December 2007 . Library of Congress – Federal Research Division. Country Profile: Philippines. March 2006. 11 December 2007 . Northern Illinois University. Philippine Festivals. 11 December 2007 . PAGASA. Climate of the Philippines. 11 December 2007 . Posadas, Barbara M. The Filipino Americans. Westport, CT, Greenwood Press, 1999. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. The Philippines. New York, Columbia University Press, 2004. 100 Best things about being Pinoy. 11 December 2007 . Read More