Ashamed of being Filipino

An American resident in the Philippines who loves this country as his home has written a disturbing article. Disturbing because most of what he says is true.

To begin with, he says he would rather live in the Philippines than anywhere else in Asia. With all its defects, this country is still a democracy. (Witness our unbridled press.) But it is a democracy very seriously flawed. And the basic problem, he says, is "a national inferiority complex, a disturbing lack of pride in being Filipino".

He says, "Filipinos tend to worship, almost slavishly, everything foreign. If it comes from Italy or France, it has to be better than anything made here. If the idea is American or German, it has to be superior to anything Filipinos can think up for themselves. Foreigners are looked up to and idolized".

Foreigners (he says) can go everywhere where Filipinos are restricted. He cites a personal experience. He was once invited to an exclusive reception, He had forgotten to bring along his invitation card but was admitted without question, whereas all the Filipinos were required to prove they had been invited.

The American writer quotes a friend of his who had once said to him, "All Filipinos want to be something else. The poor ones want to become Americans. The rich want to become Spaniards."

All of these (he says) – "the illogical respect given to foreigners simply because they are not Filipinos; the disregard and even disrespect shown to any homegrown merchandise; the neglect of anything Philippine; the rudeness of taxi drivers; the ill manners shown by many Filipinos;" – all of these "are symptoms of a lack of self-love, of respect and love for the country in which they were born."

"Worst of all," he continues, "is a static mindset in regard to finding ways to improve the situation."

"Most Filipinos, when confronted with evidence of government corruption, political chicanery, or gross exploitation on the part of the business community, simply shrug their shoulder, mutter bahala na, and let it go at that."

His conclusion: "It is an oversimplification to say this, but it is not without a grain of truth to say that Filipinos feel downtrodden because they allow themselves to feel downtrodden. No pride."

Rizal had said something similar long ago: "There are no tyrants where there are no slaves."