Filipino Culture

One of our correspondents recently came across a post on a Filipino forum.  The thread starter asked:  “Uunlad ka pa ba Sa Pilipinas?”  (Is there hope for you to move up in the Philippines)

Here is one of our contributors’  answer:

Personal progress requires the right attitude

Keep in mind that many “rich” people came to the Philippines penniless when they started. What is the difference between them and others? They had HOPE for the future, a [...] Continue Reading…

In certain US government forms, the main reason Filipinos are viewed as “Pacific Islanders” as opposed to “Asians” is that in the 70′s a few Fil-Ams activists lobbied the relevant census agencies to classify Filipino-Americans separately from other Asians.  If you think this is a bad idea, blame the Pinoy cultural activists “P not F” crowd at SF State and UC Berkeley.  This Identity Politics movement of the 1960s was probably animated by the [...] Continue Reading…

Susan Boyle, the “Britain’s Got Talent” phenom, is obviously talented.  I specially liked how she shut up the people who rolled their eyes or made faces when she said she wanted to be a singer like Elaine Page.  She epitomizes the TRUTH that within each of us is a God-given gift–whether it is singing, sports, business, whatever.  It is just up to us to get past our individual wounds and self-erected imaginary walls to [...] Continue Reading…

Much has been said about the mass dramatic outburst and overreaction to Chip Tsao’s satirical piece about “The War at Home.”  See here for the full text–courtesy of Indolent Indio.   The Philippines, as of the time of this writing, has even BLACKLISTED Mr. Tsao from the Pearl of the Orient Seas.  His offense: failure to confess his sins and apologize.

But did he really slander and insult the Filipino people by, as his Pinoy critics [...] Continue Reading…

Based solely on thinking patterns and world views, Michelle Obama might pass for your average Filipina (and Filipinos, too). Watch the video below and see and hear for yourself

watch?v=D7rAuTE5YcE

One of the biggest hurdles to the Philippines’ economic development is the stubborn attachment of many in the population to a Zero Sum economic worldview.  Put simply, they view the economy as one pie with a fixed size.  Accordingly, if one’s slice of the pie is [...] Continue Reading…

We are in the midst of a global economic tsunami that threatens to destroy much of the economic foundations of the Philippines–from the export sector, to OFW/immigrant remittances, and domestic consumption.  Our current leadership has been caught flatfooted time and time again when it comes to dealing with the economic crisis, transparency/good governance issues, and general forward planning.  As we look forward to 2010 and the hope for change, via the ballot box, for [...] Continue Reading…

It might seem outlandish but a quick factual comparison yields the inescapable conclusion that Manny Pacquiao is a bigger hero than Jose Rizal.  Jose Rizal has, since American colonial days, the default “hero” for every Filipino schoolkid to emulate.  Historical facts show otherwise.  In fact, it is Manny Pacquiao who exhibits more “heroic” virtues than Rizal ever could.

Rizal became a “hero” when Americans selected him as a hero and indoctrinated young Pinoys in American-run [...] Continue Reading…