Dear Filipino,
I am a second-generation Filipino American born and raised in the US, and while I’m proud of what the Filipinos in the US have accomplished as a group in America (I read somewhere that we’re one of the most affluent minority groups according to the US Census), I keep wondering: Why does the Philippines suck? I mean, I’ve visited Manila and the provinces a couple of times in my life, and while the country does have some beautiful vistas, for an outsider looking in, it’s really, overall, a f--king sh-thole. Seriously, dude! And yet, why do those rich-looking Filipinos seem so f--king smug and arrogant and apathetic about the whole thing? And as a concerned Filipino, what can I really do?
Thanks,
Ilonglocano (Ilonggo- Ilocano)
Dear Ilonglocano,
Wow. I felt like you just hit me in the solar plexus. So let me catch my breath first…
There. Now, I should be fine…
Frankly, your questions are so loaded and will probably require many experts to even come close to answering with any sense of justice. I will give you my two cents, though, based on what I’ve learned (in the bookish and the real worlds) and my own limited understanding of things. Of course, my answer will in no way be exhaustive because I just don’t think anyone is capable of doing that.
But first, I want to thank you for being “a concerned Filipino.” Despite the language you used, I can sense the anguish in it, the pain, even the anger, because if you’re a typical Filipino American who grew up trying to find your own place in the world, you probably felt a bit lost and insecure and groping for your own identity and pride in belonging to a group – any group – that has reasons to be proud in a massive and rich Western country with no shortage of overly proud, even noxiously boastful, people.
Now, let me try to tackle your two main questions:
(1) Why does the Philippines suck?
I have many arguments to claim that the very premise of your question is wrong because, in many respects, the Philippines is, in fact, a really cool place! The people are generally nice and a lot of foreigners have fallen in love with the country for good reasons. You won’t appreciate their arguments, of course, unless, after stuffing yourself with great seafood, you’ve lazed around in a gorgeous beach with a buko juice within reach while the sun is setting.
Having said that, I will admit that I’m with you on this IF by “suck,” you’re referring to the pervasive, all-enveloping sense of poverty, filth, and disorder that characterize most of Metro Manila and, to a much lesser extent, even the provinces – characteristics which are all too visible to anyone from the developed countries. I also presume you’ve seen the richer and nicer enclaves in Makati, Bonifacio Global City, Alabang, etc., but felt they were too few, too overwhelmed, and too negligible compared to the more common ramshackle housing of the middle class, or worse, the tin-and-cardboard housing in the slums of the lower classes. If you’re like some of my friends, the impression you had was probably like: My God, how can so many people in the Philippines live like that? How did this level of abject poverty come to pass? And how do those rich folks living in mansions in those few enclaves stomach that kind of inequality anyway?
The short answer is: You have the “Filipino culture,” as shaped by geography and history, to blame.
Notice that I put Filipino culture in quotation marks. I did so for two reasons: (1) because “Filipino” is actually a fairly new concept, probably not even more than 150 years old; and (2) because that “culture” performs noticeably more differently in another context, as you yourself have noticed when you pointed out that Filipino-Americans comprise one of the most affluent minority groups in the U.S. and are collectively estimated as having a higher “GDP” than the Philippines itself.
But let’s tackle the impact of geography first on the Filipino culture because it’s the less thorny one.
The country is an archipelago of over 7,000 islands (to be more precise, 7,107 during high tide and 7,108 during low tide, says one beauty contestant), with the South China Sea on the west, the Philippine Sea on the east and the Celebes Sea on the south. With one of the longest coastlines in the world, the islands are (or used to be) mostly covered in tropical rainforests (hence, lots of trees and one of the most diverse collections of flora and fauna). And because these islands were formed over time by active seismic and volcanic activity, minerals are abundant – e.g., gold, copper, and nickel, to name a few.
With fertile lands and abundant water and water-based resources, it’s easy to imagine that the pre-Hispanic Filipinos did not really want for much in the food department. It’s also easy to imagine that, because the islands’ biological characteristics did not really change much from island to island, and with no harsh winters to contend with, there was not a lot of trading necessary among the different tribes which populated the islands. Maybe, as a consequence, there was probably not a lot of fighting either – thus, foreign colonizers, when they came, were quick to note that the natives appeared peaceful, fun-loving, and, yes, even “docile.”
And foreigners did come, attracted by the richness of the islands. And yes, those minerals, of course!
As mentioned impliedly above, the first to colonize the islands were the Spaniards, and that was the time when the misery of the indigenous population started in earnest. Ostensibly in the name of Christianity, the conquering Spaniards claimed the islands for the Spanish throne, baptizing their new territory “Las Islas Filipinas.” And through ruthlessness, tricks, treats, and the Church, the Spaniards were able to brainwash and pummel the natives into submission or otherwise negotiate some semblance of peace with local leaders in order for them to solidify their rule and milk the islands for their selfish commercial pursuits.
What’s really remarkable is the fact that the Spaniards were able to this with very limited head count. For all intents and purposes, they just had small garrisons scattered across the archipelago. Why did they face very little opposition during their conquest and their centuries-long domination? Well, because the natives didn’t have a common language (your parents, an Illonggo and an Ilocano, can't even converse without a third language like Tagalog or English!) and were primarily tribal and clannish, so they also didn’t share a common political structure (can you blame them?). And the Spaniards realized they couldn’t let go of this inherently beneficial advantage: thus, they decided to administer the islands using the locals’ ethnic languages, not using the Spanish language; after all, Spanish was the language of the ruling class and they didn't want the natives to learn it. They also relentlessly and tirelessly made sure the locals knew their “proper place”: by constantly hammering to the brown natives that the latter were inferior in all respects to the white Spaniards, and they must therefore always be submissive to the Church and their authority. Thus, by the end of Spain's corrupt, inept and heavy-handed, patronage-politics rule, only a very small percentage knew Spanish with some facility: the elite five or so percent.
These local elites were for the most part comprised of the "mestizos." They were the progenies of the "cross-pollinating" wealthy locals and the conquering class and erring friars, and many of them were sent by their parents to study in Europe. They were beneficiaries of the largesse of their Spanish patrons, and invariably these largesses meant grants of vast tracts of land – which easily translated to substantial passive but non-creative, non-entrepreneurial income. They knew they were the elite and they, of course, had elitist tendencies as well. Interestingly, however, while they were known as the “ilustrados” or the “enlightened ones,” they actually referred to themselves as “Filipinos” even when the term was meant to refer only to Spanish creoles, those who were pure Spaniards but were born in the Philippines. The national hero, Jose Rizal, was one of these ilustrados, and he was also the one who really popularized this heretofore alien concept called “nationalism.” However, because these mestizos were sentimentally far removed from the “indios” (the ethnic local masses), it would actually take a poor artisan from Manila who spoke Tagalog named Andres Bonifacio and his Katipuneros to really begin the armed revolution against Spain.
And what Bonifacio started, the young general Emilio Aguinaldo finished, culminating in an “official” proclamation of an independent “Republic of the Philippines” in 1899 in Cavite. However, it was a fragile “republic” (which was mostly comprised of the Tagalogs really) because it had practically no purchase whatsoever, or very little support if at all, in the vast southern regions of the country or even in the non-Tagalog regions up north, which had their own peasant-led mini-revolts. And to make things worse for the leaders of the new republic, the world powers didn’t care about them really. Because when the Spaniards realized they were going to eventually lose Cuba and the Asian archipelago they'd ruled for so long, and with the Americans declaring war on them in 1898 and subsequently destroying their fleet in Manila Bay, they decided to negotiate not with the locals but with the Americans, who agreed to purchase the islands in late 1898. The revolutionaries would rise up against the Americans too, but through merciless campaigns, superior firepower and a disorganized opposition with no common language, the Americans would easily prevail and would later turn the country into an experiment of their own version of “benevolent” imperialism.
Aside from imposing English as the common national language to be learned by everyone, one thing the Americans did that differentiated them from the Spaniards was to somehow politically “unify” the islands by putting up, for the first time in the archipelago's history, a “national congress” for the Filipinos. Naturally, the wealthy elites saw this as a great way to extend their power not only in their respective provinces, where they had their own personal fiefdoms because they already had solidified their control at the local level, but also nationally. So what power and wealth the elites had during the Spanish period, they in fact increased dramatically during the American period. And the American administrators, generally hands-off in the nitty-gritty of administration and uninterested in upsetting the local social structure or in making Philippine society more egalitarian, were only too willing to become friends with the country’s national elites.
Unfortunately, this socio-political structure did not change after the Japanese invasion because the elites were the first to become collaborators, or even after Filipinos and Americans, fighting side by side, ousted the Japanese from the country after the Second World War. Unlike the ultra-successful American project of busting the old elitist socio-political structure of Japan which turned the country into one with a more equal distribution of wealth and power, in the Philippines, which was a "friend" becuase it was part of the American Commonwealth, the order of the day was to restore the country to the status quo before the Japanese arrived. Thus, the wealthy and highly connected national elites were the ones ultimately rewarded by the Americans with more power and lucrative contracts for rebuilding the ravaged and war-torn country. The poor indios’ plight remained practically the same.
And this little excursion into history is my roundabout way of explaining why it is hard for the indios, the typical Filipinos, to feel “nationalistic.” How can you be nationalistic when other Filipinos speak a language different than you? How can you be nationalistic when you see your national leaders getting richer as you get poorer? How can you be nationalistic when options are limited because you are not of the mestizo class? How can you be nationalistic when you lose or can't get a government job because you don’t have a relative, a friend, a patron in power? How can you offer your loyalty to a nation whose government is way too corrupt? How can you be nationalistic when your stomach is growling, or worse yet, when your kids are whimpering in agony for the same reason? Chances are, you would also think of survival first before nationalism, right?
In his 1987 article, “The Damaged Culture,” James Fallows discussed this “failure of nationalism” at length. He concluded: “Nationalism can of course be divisive, when it sets people of one country against another. But its absence can be even worse, if that leaves people in the grip of loyalties that are even narrower and more fragmented. When a country with extreme geographic, tribal, and social-class differences, like the Philippines, has only a weak offsetting sense of national unity, its public life does become the war of every man against every man.”
Ilonglocano, I think your feelings when you visited the Philippines were in fact shared by Fallows over 20 years ago because he wrote:
“Most of the time I spent in the Philippines, I walked around feeling angry--angry at myself when I brushed off the latest platoon of child beggars, angry at the beggars when I did give in, angry at the rich Filipinos for living behind high walls and guardhouses in the fortified Makati compounds euphemistically called villages, angry as I picked my way among piles of human feces left by homeless families living near the Philippine Navy headquarters on Roxas Boulevard, angry at a society that had degenerated into a war of every man against every man.”
Many Filipinos hated Fallows for this lurid, ugly portrait of the Philippines he saw then, but I liked Fallows’ analysis because he was also very lucid in his criticism of the American role in the stagnation and decay of Philippine society. In his essay, he said: “In its brief fling with running a colony, America undeniably brought some material benefits to the Philippines: schools, hospitals, laws, and courts. Many older Filipinos still speak with fondness about the orderly old colonial days. But American rule seemed only to intensify the Filipino sense of dependence. The United States quickly earned or bought the loyalty of the ilustrados, the educated upper class, making them into what we would call collaborationists if the Germans or Japanese had received their favors. It rammed through a number of laws insisting on free ‘competition’ between American and Philippine industries, at a time when Philippine industries were in no position to compete with anyone. The countries that have most successfully rebuilt their economies, including Japan and Korea, went through extremely protectionist infant-industry phases, with America's blessing; the United States never permitted the Philippines such a period. The Japanese and Koreans now believe they can take on anybody; the confidence of Filipino industrialists seems to have been permanently destroyed.”
That’s why if there’s one thing I envy about The Korean, aside from his more robust, more engaging blog, it is the fact that his former home country is in much better shape than mine.
(2) What can you do as a concerned Filipino?
If you feel helpless and hopeless at times, know that The Filipino completely understands you. Sometimes in fact, I feel the Philippines should just break up into smaller countries. Why not? Belgium is close to breaking up, and it has a population almost just a tenth of the Philippines. Yugoslavia, which only had a total of 23 million at its height, was broken up into six countries. The Philippines, on the other hand, now has about 100 million.
But is this the solution? Probably not. The solution is for concerned Filipinos, whether inside or outside the Philippines, to show its concern by pushing for good governance and reform, becoming more active in politics, supporting well-run charities, following the rules – even the most mundane ones like traffic rules and what-not. Do not litter, do not spit everywhere. And show some – for lack of a better term – love.
Actually, come to think of it, it is probably the best term. You and I need to show more love, and not just curse the situation. Many Filipinos lack the most basic: sanitation, clean water, decent housing, even food. They are very, very poor.
The country doesn’t suck. It's those morally and intellectually effete elite who care only about themselves, who are afraid to speak up, who manipulate the system, who are in cahoots with each other to rape the country -- they're the ones who suck. It’s those Filipino people – rich or poor, man or woman, based locally or abroad – who don’t care about helping the Philippines and about doing something even just one tiny bit about the present Philippine situation (and I can imagine they sometimes include you and I) – they, sir, are the ones who suck!
Got a question for The Filipino? Email him now at askthepinoy@gmail.com.
Nov 13, 2010
What's next for Manny Pacquiao?
If you have any doubt as to whether Manny Pacquiao is going down in the history books as one of the biggest legends of boxing, then watch this 60 Minutes Exclusive about the P4P (pound for pound) King!
Got a question for The Filipino? Email him now at askthepinoy@gmail.com.
Got a question for The Filipino? Email him now at askthepinoy@gmail.com.
Are there Filipino winners in the 2010 US elections?
Somebody shared this piece of good news to The Filipino (note that these results cover only California):
ELECTED FILIPINO WOMEN:
Tani Gorre Cantil Sakauye elected Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court
Hydra Mendoza re-elected to San Francisco School Board
Joanne F. del Rosario re-elected to Colma City Council
Linda Canlas elected to Union City School Board (New Haven)
Mae Cendana Torlakson re-elected to Ambrose Recreation and Park Board (Bay Point)
Myrna L. De Vera elected to Hercules City Council
Pat Gacoscos elected to Union City City Council
ELECTED FILIPINO MEN:
Christopher Cabaldon re-elected for Mayor of West Sacramento (Mayor since 1998)
Jose Esteves re-elected Mayor of City of Milpitas (4th term)
Mike P. Guingona re-elected to Daly City Council (3rd term)
Pete Sanchez re-elected Mayor of Suisun City (Mayor since 2006)
Rob Bonta elected to Alameda City Council
Robert Bernardo for Harbor District Board of Commissioners, San Mateo County
Congratulations to the winners and best of luck!
Got a question for The Filipino? Email him now at askthepinoy@gmail.com.
ELECTED FILIPINO WOMEN:
Tani Gorre Cantil Sakauye elected Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court
Hydra Mendoza re-elected to San Francisco School Board
Joanne F. del Rosario re-elected to Colma City Council
Linda Canlas elected to Union City School Board (New Haven)
Mae Cendana Torlakson re-elected to Ambrose Recreation and Park Board (Bay Point)
Myrna L. De Vera elected to Hercules City Council
Pat Gacoscos elected to Union City City Council
ELECTED FILIPINO MEN:
Christopher Cabaldon re-elected for Mayor of West Sacramento (Mayor since 1998)
Jose Esteves re-elected Mayor of City of Milpitas (4th term)
Mike P. Guingona re-elected to Daly City Council (3rd term)
Pete Sanchez re-elected Mayor of Suisun City (Mayor since 2006)
Rob Bonta elected to Alameda City Council
Robert Bernardo for Harbor District Board of Commissioners, San Mateo County
Congratulations to the winners and best of luck!
Got a question for The Filipino? Email him now at askthepinoy@gmail.com.
Nov 12, 2010
What do Filipinos cook for themselves at home?
Dear Filipino,
I've had lumpia before, and that's it. Could you please tell me about Filipino cuisine? Everyday eating, not what the restaurants pump out. I'm especially interested in hearing what families cook for themselves, more than what they cook for guests. Has a Filipino Brother-in-Law, But Boy is He Worthless.
Thank you!
Itchy Ishy
P.S. Filipino, lots of people start blogs and lose steam. I'm really looking forward to yours, so don't quit on me. Good luck with the questions!
Dear Itchy Ishy,
Believe it or not, what you see in typical Filipino restaurants are also the dishes ordinary Filipino families cook for themselves on a daily basis. Except for a few fancy Filipino restaurants, most Filipino restaurants serve the home-cooked variety.
The most popular are the following:
You have all types of adobo (typically marinated in vinegar, soy sauce and garlic): chicken adobo, pork adobo, chicken-pork adobo, adobong pusit (squid), adobong hipon (shrimp), adobong isda (fish), and other variations.
Then you have the sinigang series, which are soups characterized by a really sour flavor, usually by using tamarind, calamansi (Filipino lemons), or guava, and a generous heaping of all sorts of vegetables. Like adobo, they can be sinigang na manok (chicken), sinigang na baboy (pork), sinigang na hipon, sinigang na isda, etc.
Because Filipinos love soups, you have the nilaga (really soupy stew), typically with beef or pork and made healthy by vegetables like bok choy. And the really yummy chicken tinola.
You can also have kare-kare, kinilaw (ceviche), ginataan (all sorts of stuff cooked with coconut milk), all sorts of barbecued meats marinated in soy sauce and vinegar, and all sorts of pansit (noodles), which can be cooked in different styles: palabok, bihon, batchoy, etc.
Honestly, the list of viands is really almost a mile long because of the different styles, regional versions, permutations, combinations of Filipino cooking as richly influenced by the Chinese, Spanish, Americans, Japanese, South Asians, Malays, and many other cultures. And frankly, I don't have the inclination and time to really go through this list exhaustively right now, but might go back to it later down the road if another reader asks a more pointed question. (So keep returning, 'k?)
But note, Ishy: There is one thing you can't EVER forget to serve in a Filipino meal:
RICE. And lots of it!
P.S. The Filipino doesn't plan to quit on you, Ishy, but then again, The Filipino has made other plans in his past that, because of one circumstance/reason/excuse or another, he had to abandon. But let's not dwell on this quitting thing and let's just keep wishing each other well, 'k?
P.P.S. Did I mention you have to serve RICE, and lots of it, every meal?
P.P.P.S. I'm sorry you have a "worthless Filipino brother-in-law"? Are you sure you're feeding him enough rice?
Got a question for The Filipino? Email him now at askthepinoy@gmail.com.
I've had lumpia before, and that's it. Could you please tell me about Filipino cuisine? Everyday eating, not what the restaurants pump out. I'm especially interested in hearing what families cook for themselves, more than what they cook for guests. Has a Filipino Brother-in-Law, But Boy is He Worthless.
Thank you!
Itchy Ishy
P.S. Filipino, lots of people start blogs and lose steam. I'm really looking forward to yours, so don't quit on me. Good luck with the questions!
Dear Itchy Ishy,
Believe it or not, what you see in typical Filipino restaurants are also the dishes ordinary Filipino families cook for themselves on a daily basis. Except for a few fancy Filipino restaurants, most Filipino restaurants serve the home-cooked variety.
The most popular are the following:
You have all types of adobo (typically marinated in vinegar, soy sauce and garlic): chicken adobo, pork adobo, chicken-pork adobo, adobong pusit (squid), adobong hipon (shrimp), adobong isda (fish), and other variations.
Then you have the sinigang series, which are soups characterized by a really sour flavor, usually by using tamarind, calamansi (Filipino lemons), or guava, and a generous heaping of all sorts of vegetables. Like adobo, they can be sinigang na manok (chicken), sinigang na baboy (pork), sinigang na hipon, sinigang na isda, etc.
Because Filipinos love soups, you have the nilaga (really soupy stew), typically with beef or pork and made healthy by vegetables like bok choy. And the really yummy chicken tinola.
You can also have kare-kare, kinilaw (ceviche), ginataan (all sorts of stuff cooked with coconut milk), all sorts of barbecued meats marinated in soy sauce and vinegar, and all sorts of pansit (noodles), which can be cooked in different styles: palabok, bihon, batchoy, etc.
Honestly, the list of viands is really almost a mile long because of the different styles, regional versions, permutations, combinations of Filipino cooking as richly influenced by the Chinese, Spanish, Americans, Japanese, South Asians, Malays, and many other cultures. And frankly, I don't have the inclination and time to really go through this list exhaustively right now, but might go back to it later down the road if another reader asks a more pointed question. (So keep returning, 'k?)
But note, Ishy: There is one thing you can't EVER forget to serve in a Filipino meal:
RICE. And lots of it!
P.S. The Filipino doesn't plan to quit on you, Ishy, but then again, The Filipino has made other plans in his past that, because of one circumstance/reason/excuse or another, he had to abandon. But let's not dwell on this quitting thing and let's just keep wishing each other well, 'k?
P.P.S. Did I mention you have to serve RICE, and lots of it, every meal?
P.P.P.S. I'm sorry you have a "worthless Filipino brother-in-law"? Are you sure you're feeding him enough rice?
Got a question for The Filipino? Email him now at askthepinoy@gmail.com.
Why do Filipinas have dark armpits?
Dear Filipino,
Question: Why do Pinays [Filipino women] have dark underarms?
Donna
Dear Donna,
Do they really? Is this observation supportable by sufficient data? The Filipino finds the premise of your question extremely interesting and he'll probably be more observant in this department moving forward. ;-)
In any case, without regard to race, according to The Beauty Brains ("Real Scientists Answer Your Beauty Questions"), the top five causes of darkened armpits are:
1) Shaving - "If your hairs are slightly darker than your skin color, they can give the appearance that your skin has a dark stain when it`s really just sub-surface hair."
2) Buildup of dead skin cells "trapped in microscopic 'hills and valleys' on your skin."
3) Antiperspirant and deodorant usage - "In theory, some ingredients in these products (perhaps the fragrance) could be reacting with the skin to cause discoloration. Practically speaking this seems unlikely but many people do claim that when they stop using APDs, the darkness goes away."
4) Acanthosis nigricans - "This [medical] condition causes light-brown-to-black markings on the neck, under the arms, or in the groin. It can be related to insulin production or to a glandular disorder and it typically occurs in people who are overweight."
5) Hyper pigmentation - "This condition causes your skin to produce excess melanin pigment."
If The Filipino has to hazard a guess, of the five theories above, he will submit that despite the article saying it seems unlikely, Cause No. 3 as discussed is the real culprit to blame for the darker armpits of Pinays (assuming of course that the premise of your question is true). Why? Because of the high humidity levels in the Philippines, Filipinos, men or women but especially women, wouldn't be caught dead with wet, or worse, smelly armpits. So what do they do? Well, what would you do? Load up on antiperspirants and deodorants, of course!
Got a question for The Filipino? Email him now at askthepinoy@gmail.com.
Question: Why do Pinays [Filipino women] have dark underarms?
Donna
Dear Donna,
Do they really? Is this observation supportable by sufficient data? The Filipino finds the premise of your question extremely interesting and he'll probably be more observant in this department moving forward. ;-)
In any case, without regard to race, according to The Beauty Brains ("Real Scientists Answer Your Beauty Questions"), the top five causes of darkened armpits are:
1) Shaving - "If your hairs are slightly darker than your skin color, they can give the appearance that your skin has a dark stain when it`s really just sub-surface hair."
2) Buildup of dead skin cells "trapped in microscopic 'hills and valleys' on your skin."
3) Antiperspirant and deodorant usage - "In theory, some ingredients in these products (perhaps the fragrance) could be reacting with the skin to cause discoloration. Practically speaking this seems unlikely but many people do claim that when they stop using APDs, the darkness goes away."
4) Acanthosis nigricans - "This [medical] condition causes light-brown-to-black markings on the neck, under the arms, or in the groin. It can be related to insulin production or to a glandular disorder and it typically occurs in people who are overweight."
5) Hyper pigmentation - "This condition causes your skin to produce excess melanin pigment."
If The Filipino has to hazard a guess, of the five theories above, he will submit that despite the article saying it seems unlikely, Cause No. 3 as discussed is the real culprit to blame for the darker armpits of Pinays (assuming of course that the premise of your question is true). Why? Because of the high humidity levels in the Philippines, Filipinos, men or women but especially women, wouldn't be caught dead with wet, or worse, smelly armpits. So what do they do? Well, what would you do? Load up on antiperspirants and deodorants, of course!
Got a question for The Filipino? Email him now at askthepinoy@gmail.com.
Who are the best Filipino musical artists?
Dear Filipino,
First off, I'm super psyched that you decided to do this blog. I'm Filipino too, but I've been born and raised in the US, so my upbringing has been quite... American (not hating of course.)
On to the questions: Can you name a couple of the top/popular Filipino musical artists? I really need to expand my Filipino music library. I really like Rocksteddy and Spongecola, plus some of the artists my mom listens to while she cooks - Martin Nievera, Jessa Zaragoza, and Willie Revillame (lol). Any others you can recommend? And are there any in Ilokano? I know most of the Filipino music I came across was in Tagalog.
Right now, other than American/English songs, my library is filled with K-pop/rock (no surprise right?). I listen to it so much that I'm actually picking up the language - I think I know more Korean words than Ilokano, which makes me rather sad.
Thanks!
Signed,
The Not-so-filipino Filipino
Dear The Not-so-filipino Filipino,
Hey, thanks for being supportive of the blog! Frankly, I just hope I can do as good a job as The Mexican and The Korean.
Fortunately or unfortunately for you, The Filipino's musical tastes may not be similar to yours! But if you really want his recommendations, here they are:
I like Gary Valenciano, Apo Hiking Society, Eraserheads, The Dawn, Ogie Alcasid and Freddie Aguilar. I hate Willie Revillame! (Yes, The Filipino thinks he's one of the most loathsome Filipinos out there! But that's for another discussion.)
For women, I like Lea Salonga, Kuh Ledesma and, most of all, Charmaine Clamor. If you haven't yet, you really have to check out Charmaine's "Jazzipino" -- which, according to her, "is the new musical genre that results from melding traditional Filipino melodies, languages and instruments with the soul and swing of American jazz." Her album Flippin' Out is absolutely spellbinding. [Added 1/4/11: Click here to download the MP3 copy of the most unbelievable rendition of Ikaw.]
For online musical resources, The Filipino likes the site titikpilipino.com. Check it out -- it needs some regular updating but its content is really robust. Of course, you can always visit the top media sites run by ABS-CBN, GMA and the like.
As for Ilocano music, The Filipino has no personal recommendations. Sorry, sorry, sorry. But the reality is, Ilocano music, like other dialect-based musical genres, is not that popular nationally. But check out these links from opmpinoy and kabayancentral. One of these days, I'd like to see provincial artists singing in Ilocano, Bicolano, Visayan, etc., break out onto the national or even better, international scene.
K-pop/rock, huh? Well, K-pop is really getting more and more popular, so I don't blame you. But I like the fact that you're trying to reconnect to your roots, because honestly, if there's one thing Filipinos know how to do, it is music.
Got a question for The Filipino? Email him now at askthepinoy@gmail.com.
First off, I'm super psyched that you decided to do this blog. I'm Filipino too, but I've been born and raised in the US, so my upbringing has been quite... American (not hating of course.)
On to the questions: Can you name a couple of the top/popular Filipino musical artists? I really need to expand my Filipino music library. I really like Rocksteddy and Spongecola, plus some of the artists my mom listens to while she cooks - Martin Nievera, Jessa Zaragoza, and Willie Revillame (lol). Any others you can recommend? And are there any in Ilokano? I know most of the Filipino music I came across was in Tagalog.
Right now, other than American/English songs, my library is filled with K-pop/rock (no surprise right?). I listen to it so much that I'm actually picking up the language - I think I know more Korean words than Ilokano, which makes me rather sad.
Thanks!
Signed,
The Not-so-filipino Filipino
Dear The Not-so-filipino Filipino,
Hey, thanks for being supportive of the blog! Frankly, I just hope I can do as good a job as The Mexican and The Korean.
Fortunately or unfortunately for you, The Filipino's musical tastes may not be similar to yours! But if you really want his recommendations, here they are:
I like Gary Valenciano, Apo Hiking Society, Eraserheads, The Dawn, Ogie Alcasid and Freddie Aguilar. I hate Willie Revillame! (Yes, The Filipino thinks he's one of the most loathsome Filipinos out there! But that's for another discussion.)
For women, I like Lea Salonga, Kuh Ledesma and, most of all, Charmaine Clamor. If you haven't yet, you really have to check out Charmaine's "Jazzipino" -- which, according to her, "is the new musical genre that results from melding traditional Filipino melodies, languages and instruments with the soul and swing of American jazz." Her album Flippin' Out is absolutely spellbinding. [Added 1/4/11: Click here to download the MP3 copy of the most unbelievable rendition of Ikaw.]
For online musical resources, The Filipino likes the site titikpilipino.com. Check it out -- it needs some regular updating but its content is really robust. Of course, you can always visit the top media sites run by ABS-CBN, GMA and the like.
As for Ilocano music, The Filipino has no personal recommendations. Sorry, sorry, sorry. But the reality is, Ilocano music, like other dialect-based musical genres, is not that popular nationally. But check out these links from opmpinoy and kabayancentral. One of these days, I'd like to see provincial artists singing in Ilocano, Bicolano, Visayan, etc., break out onto the national or even better, international scene.
K-pop/rock, huh? Well, K-pop is really getting more and more popular, so I don't blame you. But I like the fact that you're trying to reconnect to your roots, because honestly, if there's one thing Filipinos know how to do, it is music.
Got a question for The Filipino? Email him now at askthepinoy@gmail.com.
Does the Philippines value its people?
Howdy Filipino!
Hello! First off, let me say, I'm loving the blog. I'm a 1st generation Filipino who has lived in America for about...23 years (out of my 25 years). I wonder about the mother country sometimes. It seems that the Philippines is not fully utilizing a lot of the country's natural resources (though I could just be grossly misinformed). Also it seems that the country is not doing much to maintain it's most important natural resource - it's people. From what my relatives tell me, most people try to get out of the Philippines. My cousin in-law (who graduated at the top of his class in medical school) commented on how it's hard to intern (or do his residency) at a really good hospital because you have to pay the doctors there a lot of money - skills and ability are secondary. He's now doing his residency here in America. He commented that the good thing about America is that they pay you for your abilities. I realize that a lot of this is based on familial anecdotes, but is there a degree of truth in any of the scenarios listed above?
Fil-I-Am
Dear Fil-I-Am,
I don't know where to even begin, so let me start with your question outright: "Is there a degree of truth in any of the scenarios listed above?"
The short answer is: Yes, of course. But let's parse it a bit more...
I'm imagining your relatives who share these familial anecdotes are not doing so to spread lies about the country, because I don't know of a lot of Filipinos, even if they've gone AWOL in the Philippines, who hate the country per se. I'm sure they've experienced similar situations related to these anecdotes, personally or vicariously through their friends, classmates, acquaintances, etc.
For instance, let me share some stories myself: A person I know who was working as a consultant for a top American consulting firm was only making about $400 per month in Manila, but she was always being sent to the US to help out at the site of their American clients. Her stateside peers were easily making salaries by a factor of 10. Thus, being a US resident herself, she quit the Philippine office and then applied and was accepted for the same role, same position in the US for ten times the salary.
I also know of doctors, some of whom are friends of mine, who labored through their residency and early years as practicing doctors being paid about $300 per month. Even with the lower lower cost of living in the Philippines, that's still NOTHING!
What about nurses, some of whom make in excess of $100K in the U.S. working in two hospitals? Well, in the Philippines, you're lucky to be making $400 per month if you're an experienced nurse. If you're a new nurse, you basically pay a hospital to hire you as a "new trainee." (I guess, in fairness, you can't really blame the hospitals too much -- most of these new nurses are just looking for experience to be able to go abroad and they have thousands to choose from. In other words, it's a classic supply and demand question: who has more leverage if there more supply than demand?)
But as you probably already know, the underlying themes with these anecdotes are the seemingly intractable problems of poverty, lack of opportunity, government corruption and culture. (Of these, I will discuss the last one (CULTURE) in more detail in a different post.)
As a result, a lot of Filipinos go abroad in search of better opportunities, better lives for themselves and their families. It is estimated that at least 10% of Filipinos are now living all over the world. You and I are among them. Is it a waste of human resources? In large measure, sure! Because imagine the brain drain that this situtation causes: For instance, it is estimated that there are about 20,000 Filipino doctors who are now living in the US alone, because as you said yourself, in America, "they are paid for their abilities."
Personally, the sad part for me about the whole thing, as someone who migrated myself to the US, is when other Filipinos begin to deride those who leave the country as "traitors," as people who "bailed out" on the country, without regard to the complexity and multi-facetedness of the issue of leaving the Philippines "for greener pastures." Many people don't realize it's really a very personal and often difficult decision. As Jose Ma. Montelibano, a well known columnist and an executive of Gawad Kalinga (an amazing nonprofit which is aiming to end poverty in the country) recently noted in his column, "greener pastures have more to do about opportunity, about choices, than just plain income."
He went on:
"Leaving the motherland is hardly because there is a diluted sense of patriotism, but because patriotism itself is denied development in a citizen's heart. To the life of a poor person or family, what then is country? What would make a poor person or family, landless and without the right to be in any square meter in their land of birth - and without the means to rent that right? What benefits are derived from a land of obvious plenty by a Filipino family who is only a step ahead of hunger while public officials of the land can spend millions for a dinner in New York? What can make a Filipino love the Philippines other than a birth in a motherland not yet of his or her choice?"
What to do? Mr. Montelibano has this to say:
"The challenge now rests heavily on the shoulders of Filipinos who have reason to love our motherland. It may be that, like me, the circumstance of birth favored me economically, socially and politically. It may be like those who built on their boldness, on their education, on their perseverance, and, most likely, on their business sense, and can now help others. It may be that, like most Filipinos, a basic goodness, a sense of bayanihan and a commitment to walang iwanan, transcends personal interest in order to give succor to a fellow Filipino. When Filipinos go beyond the boundaries of family and clan to care for another as a brother or sister of the same motherland, then even the impoverished and marginalized are given good reasons to love country and race."
Thanks for your email (especially your "loving the blog") and I hope you will find a way to help the Philippines in your own way from time to time, not just "wonder" about it.
P.S. I can tell you right now I'll have much more to say later about this issue of out-migration and the Philippine brain drain as the blog further develops.
Got a question for The Filipino? Email him now at askthepinoy@gmail.com.
Hello! First off, let me say, I'm loving the blog. I'm a 1st generation Filipino who has lived in America for about...23 years (out of my 25 years). I wonder about the mother country sometimes. It seems that the Philippines is not fully utilizing a lot of the country's natural resources (though I could just be grossly misinformed). Also it seems that the country is not doing much to maintain it's most important natural resource - it's people. From what my relatives tell me, most people try to get out of the Philippines. My cousin in-law (who graduated at the top of his class in medical school) commented on how it's hard to intern (or do his residency) at a really good hospital because you have to pay the doctors there a lot of money - skills and ability are secondary. He's now doing his residency here in America. He commented that the good thing about America is that they pay you for your abilities. I realize that a lot of this is based on familial anecdotes, but is there a degree of truth in any of the scenarios listed above?
Fil-I-Am
Dear Fil-I-Am,
I don't know where to even begin, so let me start with your question outright: "Is there a degree of truth in any of the scenarios listed above?"
The short answer is: Yes, of course. But let's parse it a bit more...
I'm imagining your relatives who share these familial anecdotes are not doing so to spread lies about the country, because I don't know of a lot of Filipinos, even if they've gone AWOL in the Philippines, who hate the country per se. I'm sure they've experienced similar situations related to these anecdotes, personally or vicariously through their friends, classmates, acquaintances, etc.
For instance, let me share some stories myself: A person I know who was working as a consultant for a top American consulting firm was only making about $400 per month in Manila, but she was always being sent to the US to help out at the site of their American clients. Her stateside peers were easily making salaries by a factor of 10. Thus, being a US resident herself, she quit the Philippine office and then applied and was accepted for the same role, same position in the US for ten times the salary.
I also know of doctors, some of whom are friends of mine, who labored through their residency and early years as practicing doctors being paid about $300 per month. Even with the lower lower cost of living in the Philippines, that's still NOTHING!
What about nurses, some of whom make in excess of $100K in the U.S. working in two hospitals? Well, in the Philippines, you're lucky to be making $400 per month if you're an experienced nurse. If you're a new nurse, you basically pay a hospital to hire you as a "new trainee." (I guess, in fairness, you can't really blame the hospitals too much -- most of these new nurses are just looking for experience to be able to go abroad and they have thousands to choose from. In other words, it's a classic supply and demand question: who has more leverage if there more supply than demand?)
But as you probably already know, the underlying themes with these anecdotes are the seemingly intractable problems of poverty, lack of opportunity, government corruption and culture. (Of these, I will discuss the last one (CULTURE) in more detail in a different post.)
As a result, a lot of Filipinos go abroad in search of better opportunities, better lives for themselves and their families. It is estimated that at least 10% of Filipinos are now living all over the world. You and I are among them. Is it a waste of human resources? In large measure, sure! Because imagine the brain drain that this situtation causes: For instance, it is estimated that there are about 20,000 Filipino doctors who are now living in the US alone, because as you said yourself, in America, "they are paid for their abilities."
Personally, the sad part for me about the whole thing, as someone who migrated myself to the US, is when other Filipinos begin to deride those who leave the country as "traitors," as people who "bailed out" on the country, without regard to the complexity and multi-facetedness of the issue of leaving the Philippines "for greener pastures." Many people don't realize it's really a very personal and often difficult decision. As Jose Ma. Montelibano, a well known columnist and an executive of Gawad Kalinga (an amazing nonprofit which is aiming to end poverty in the country) recently noted in his column, "greener pastures have more to do about opportunity, about choices, than just plain income."
He went on:
"Leaving the motherland is hardly because there is a diluted sense of patriotism, but because patriotism itself is denied development in a citizen's heart. To the life of a poor person or family, what then is country? What would make a poor person or family, landless and without the right to be in any square meter in their land of birth - and without the means to rent that right? What benefits are derived from a land of obvious plenty by a Filipino family who is only a step ahead of hunger while public officials of the land can spend millions for a dinner in New York? What can make a Filipino love the Philippines other than a birth in a motherland not yet of his or her choice?"
What to do? Mr. Montelibano has this to say:
"The challenge now rests heavily on the shoulders of Filipinos who have reason to love our motherland. It may be that, like me, the circumstance of birth favored me economically, socially and politically. It may be like those who built on their boldness, on their education, on their perseverance, and, most likely, on their business sense, and can now help others. It may be that, like most Filipinos, a basic goodness, a sense of bayanihan and a commitment to walang iwanan, transcends personal interest in order to give succor to a fellow Filipino. When Filipinos go beyond the boundaries of family and clan to care for another as a brother or sister of the same motherland, then even the impoverished and marginalized are given good reasons to love country and race."
Thanks for your email (especially your "loving the blog") and I hope you will find a way to help the Philippines in your own way from time to time, not just "wonder" about it.
P.S. I can tell you right now I'll have much more to say later about this issue of out-migration and the Philippine brain drain as the blog further develops.
Got a question for The Filipino? Email him now at askthepinoy@gmail.com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
