The Sisa Syndrome

and the Antidote to Our Depression

by Ricky Rivera

Dr. Jose Rizal in his novel Noli me Tangere tells of Sisa, a woman who fell into a very deep depression when she lost her two
sons. Sisa went around town looking for them. She knows that a priest killed her two sons but she never saw how and never
resolved to herself why.

Many think that this is something of a fictionalized narrative of the status of our country during Rizal’s time. If you read and
study why Rizal included this scene in his novel, you will definitely think that Sisa alludes to our country, an image he conjured
to reflect the Motherland. And she was. Rizal really meant Sisa to be the true image of our country under colonization. It is
worth remembering though that Sisa’s quest for her two sons continued until today. Later, in this short story, I will tell you why
I think Rizal wrote about Sisa and its significance in our present situation.

I often ask myself why some Filipinos find it extremely hard
to stay in our country. According to the Bureau of Immigra-
tion, at least 3,000 Filipinos leave the Philippines every single
day. That’s 90,000 month, a million a year, and 10 million in
ten. Most of these Filipinos leave due to economic reasons.
And every Filipino who leaves his homeland is one less Filipi-
no who can help rebuild this country. A report says that “this
country holds a snap election every day. Men and women vote
with their feet daily to search for better futures abroad.”
ages ranging from 10 to 12 say they wished to work abroad
someday. Sixty percent of children of overseas foreign work-
ers said they had plans to work abroad.
As of December 2004, some 3.2 million Filipinos reside in
different countries as permanent settlers while 3.6 million as
temporary labor migrants. Another 1.3 million migrants are
in different countries, mostly in unauthorized situation in
the United States and Malaysia. A study shows an increasing
trend of Filipinos, about 28%, leaving for abroad to marry.

The Filipino diaspora is not a recent phenomenon. A study
by the Philippine Migrant Society of Canada says that Filipi-
nos started leaving the country for “greener pastures” in the
early 1900s. A larger number of Filipino professionals moved
to other countries in the 1950’s and continued to balloon up
until the 1960’s. During Martial law, the Overseas Filipino
Worker phenomenon started to increase, attracting not just
Filipino professionals but skilled and unskilled workers.
“The history of Filipino migration”, says the PMSC, “..is a
product of extreme poverty, underdevelopment and jobless-
ness in the country.”
Labor migration is a socio-economic reality, one that even
prosperous countries suffer from. What I am concerned here
is the rising numbers of Filipinos who migrate and uproot ev-
ery single member of their family to permanently live in other
countries.
This explains why our Potential Net Migration Index (PNMI)
is a negative 22%, similar with Iran and just a tad lower than
Yemen (-23%) and El Salvador (-45), countries which are
more politically distressed than us.
What is it that attracts Filipinos to go someplace else to live?
Why is it that Filipinos feel that their future lays elsewhere?
What’s so different with the Philippines than, say, the United
States? Many things, someone would definitely say. The Unit-
ed States is more prosperous than the Philippines. Americans
have equal economic rights that allow the individual to live
in prosperity and relative peace. Other countries have better
laws, another Filipino says. Some would even say that gov-
ernments in other countries are better than ours.
Is this the truth? Are these really the true reasons why Fili-
pinos leave?

A national survey by Pulse Asia in 2006, says three out of ten Compare our country with others, and you’ll find that the
Filipinos dream of living abroad…permanently. Interest in liv- Philippines ranks far better than those countries. Ask a Ger-
ing abroad is not just confined with adults. Filipino children man or a Canadian where he likes to retire and he would defi-
surveyed by Pulse Asia shows 47% of Filipino children with nitely say, “Philippines!” without battling an eyelash. Those

Ricky Rivera is a former lecturer at the University of the Philippines and Dela Salle University. He is a prolific plogger or a political blogger. This
article is an excerpt from his the book, “ Bagong Istorya: Great Stories in Philippine History”. He lectures every so often on Communications,
Public Relations and Marketing. He wrote this after learning that one of his friends, a former great student leader, is now living abroad.
 The Sisa Syndrome and the Antidote to Our Depression
who already lived in Europe, particularly in London, would rel-
ish living in a hut somewhere here than suffer from the harsh
weather of that cosmopolitan city. Our country lies in the tropics.
Our weather is far better than the bitter, cold and icy Canadian
weather.
And how do our lands fare in the natural aesthetics department?
We are definitely among the most beautiful in the world.
We have wonderful coastlines full of pristine immaculate sand.
Nothing compares with our Boracays, our Palawans and our
Guimaras. Wonderful mountains adorn our countrysides, filled
with beautiful sights, such as rivers, lakes and streams. We prob-
ably are not included in Yahoo!s 10 Most beautiful countries in
the world, but we sure are one of the world’s best twenty.
Yes, we are sited in one of the world’s most dangerous quake belts
but our 6 or 7 magnitude quakes pale in comparison with those
that strike Indonesia every single year or those in Mexico and
even in the United States. Our typhoons are wimps compared
with those cyclones and hurricanes which inflict harm upon
Americans every single year.
The only difference is that other nationalities enjoy a far excellent
governmental service than what we have. Despite this, Filipinos,
according to a study, are happy with what they have.
According to the 2009 Happy Planet Index (HPI) published by
the New Economics Foundation, the Philippines is the 14th hap-
piest place in the world, up 3 places from 2008’s 17th place rank-
ing.
The HPI index measures happiness combining life satisfaction,
life expectancy and environmental footprint — the amount of
land required to sustain the population and absorb its energy
consumption.
Costa Rica is the happiest place in the world, followed by Domin-
ican Republic, Jamaica, Guatemala, Vietnam, Colombia, Cuba,
El Salvador, Brazil and Honduras.
In 2010, Forbes conducted another survey. Gallup poll shows the
Philippines ranked 94th happiest place in the world, still far bet-
ter than India or China. Malaysia, where most Filipinos go to
work, is just a spot higher than us.
The survey is a telling one. Only 18% of Filipinos suffer from un-
happiness. And the same number of people, about 68% struggles,
the same case with Saudi Arabia, a country with most Overseas
Filipino Workers. Singapore, despite being three spots higher
than us, have a huge number of people struggling, with 75% of
their people saying they are struggling in their daily lives to be
happy.
“ The Sisa Sydrome and the Root of Our Depression” an excerpt from the book, “ Bagong Istorya: Great Stories in Philippine History” by the same author
In terms of having a very good “subjective well-being”, the Philip-
pines ranks a good 30th standing. Most Filipinos go to Taiwan,
which ranks 31 and Japan a poor 39th. Italy, where many Filipi-
nos aspire to work and live, is ranked 35th. Our former colonizer,
Spain, is three ranks lower than us.
Compared with other countries, we, Filipinos, are happier than
them and live in relative good life and have better well-being.
This is what I really don’t understand. If we say we are happy
where we are, and our well-being is far better than other coun-
tries, then, why do we still leave? Why do many of us still think
that a better future lies elsewhere than here?
The Enigma
Is it an enigma that we feel so bad when the fact of the matter is,
we really are blessed with so many wonderful things around us?
That grayish and decaying landscape that is Manila, is not the
entire country. No.
Go out and explore Luzon, just this island, and you’ll find that
there are more extremely wonderful things here than, say, Sin-
gapore. Singapore does not have a range of mountains we call
Sierra Madre, nor do Singaporeans enjoy paradise-like islands
such as Puerto Galera. Yes, they have their Sentosa, but as every-
one knows, that reclaimed island is not real. Those rocks which
you see there are all concrete and those sands are exports from,
tadah, the Philippines.
Everyone knows that we are a blessed people. But, why is it that
most of us want to leave and even consider this precious pearl in
the orient as a hellish nightmare?
Some scholars think that what we are feeling, the state of our
condition, lies in our inability to appreciate the finer things in
our lives. We always feel inferior to others. We always look at
other countries’ situation as something better than ours. These
are indications of depression.
What is the root of our depression? Scholars say we suffer from
this malady called “Colonial mentality.”
The Root Cause of our Depression
Colonial mentality is not just a predilection in thing foreign. No.
Colonial mentality refers to what analysts say as “institutional-
ized or systematic feelings of inferiority within some societies or
peoples who have been subjected to colonialism. “ The concept,
according to scholars, refers to the acceptance by the colonized of
the culture or mores or even doctrine of the colonizer, as intrinsi-
cally more worthy or superior than theirs.
 The Sisa Syndrome and the Antidote to Our Depression
Colonial mentality is the chain that enslaves us Filipinos. It is
not imperialism that gnaws our self-image. No. It is this mental
state or condition called colonial mentality that continually op-
presses us and makes us feel far inferior from other nationalities
or races.
David and Okazaki (2006a) conceptualized colonial mentality
as a form of internalized oppression, characterized by a percep-
tion of ethnic or cultural inferiority, believed to be a consequence
of centuries of colonization under Spain and the United States.
Their study among Filipino-Americans is telling. It shows that
this involves an automatic and uncritical rejection of anything
Filipino and an automatic and uncritical preference to anything
foreign.
The study also shows this mental condition, affects every single
Filipino’s self-image and self-esteem. It manifests in how Filipi-
nos denigrate his own self, his culture and body, discriminates
against less Americanized Filipinos and tolerance and accep-
tance of historical and contemporary oppression of Filipinos and
Filipino Americans (David and Okazaki, 2006).
A survey of over 600 Filipino Americans shows that one out of
three or about 30% exhibit some form of Colonial mentality. Da-
vid and Okazaki found that these Filipinos feel either inferior
of their ethnicity and culture, feel ashamed and embarrassed of
their ethnicity or culture or tend to feel indebted toward their
part and present colonizers or oppressors.
Empirical research shows that those who have Colonial mental-
ity have significantly lower personal self-esteem than those with-
out. Those who have colonial mentality have higher depression
levels than Filipinos without colonial mentality.
Is there something to be ashamed about our country?
Those who show indications of CM says that they feel ashamed
of some of the things that happened or is happening in their
countries. A trans-national study however shows that Filipinos
are sixth from the bottom of those with something in the coun-
try to feel ashamed about. Social Weather Stations (SWS) found
that only 42% of Filipinos agree that there is something to be
ashamed of their country, compared with 28% who either agreed
or disagreed and a far less number (27%) says nothing is shame-
ful about the Philippines.
SWS discovered that the huge bulk of those who feel ashamed
about our country resides in Metro Manila (52%) and the
Visayas (50%) than in the rest of Luzon (39%) and Mindanao
(35%). Most Filipinos who belonged to the middle to upper ABC
(58%) feel ashamed compared with the masa (40%) and the very
poor (42%).
“ The Sisa Sydrome and the Root of Our Depression” an excerpt from the book, “ Bagong Istorya: Great Stories in Philippine History” by the same author
Curiously, the more educated you are, the more you feel ashamed
of yourself as a Filipino. Fifty three percent of college gradu-
ates say they are ashamed of their country, compared with 33%
among elementary dropouts, 35% among high school dropouts
and 46% among high school graduates.
This, however, contradicts with a 2003 ISSP survey on national
identity. Eighty three percent of Filipinos felt very proud of their
race, and only one percent feels not proud at all. Our pride as a
Filipino was second highest among 33 countries, topped only by
Venezuela’s 92, and three percent higher than the United States
(80%) and others.
We Filipinos are proud about our achievements in sports (84%),
history (82%), arts and literature (78%), armed forces (57%), sci-
entific and technological achievements (80%), the way democ-
racy works (54%) and the fair and equal treatment of all groups
in society (51%). On the other hand, we feel less proud on our
economic achievements (47%), social security system (45%) and
our political influence in the world (36%).
So if eighty percent of us are proud of being Pinoys, with some,
40 plus percent feeling ashamed of some of the things which hap-
pens to us, why is it that there is still a big proportion of our
population who dreams of living and staying permanently in
some other country?
Colonial Mentality: Social-wide Stockholm syndrome
One possible explanation is the effects education and media has
to us, as Filipinos. Look at the SWS study—the more educated a
Filipino is, the more he shows or feels ashamed of his racial roots.
The reason is obvious. His education is patterned after Western
models. Obviously, his standards of everything are based also on
Western ones.
Media also shows images of prosperous countries, of cosmo-
politan cities and of the perceived relative stability and progress
other countries, particularly those in the West. These images are
imbedded into our sub-conscious minds. These affects our pref-
erences, our choices. These images create a sub-conscious and
often, emotional link (Poiesz, 1989, p. 461).
As we continually expose ourselves to these images, we then form
an opinion or a perception that our situation is worse than oth-
ers. When certain situations such as a bungled police operation
or when government acts contrary to popular perception, we feel
ashamed and angry with our government. We often perceive that
our governmental system is much more inferior to others.
Memmi (1965), Fanon (1965) and Freire (1970) theorized that a
salient effect of colonization is the internalization of the inferior
perception imposed on the colonized by the colonizer. Such in-
 The Sisa Syndrome and the Antidote to Our Depression
ternalization may lead to feelings of inferiority about oneself and
one’s ethnic or cultural group. Feelings of shame, embarrassment
or resentment normally follow; then outright rejection of one’s
self.
This explains Filipino preference to products from the United
States, Europe and even, Asian. It extends even to Filipino per-
ceptions on his own skin, being brown than white.
Colonial mentality-driven preferences apply, but are not limited
to, culture or lifestyle, physical characteristics, socio-economic
opportunities, language, material products and leadership or
government. (Bergano & Bergano-Kinney, 1997, p. 202). Even
the use of language exhibits signs of colonial mentality. Strobel
(1997) says that some colonized peoples ridicule or resent oth-
ers who belong in their ethnic group who does not know how to
speak, read and write English which they perceive as the “univer-
sal norm and marker of intelligence.”
An individual who already assimilated or encultured himself
with the colonizer’s cultural norms, and is already convinced or
programmed to think that the colonizer’s is superior to his, the
colonized begins to view the colonizer in a positive light. Mem-
mi and Rimonte referred to this as “colonial debt”. Such a belief
might lead to the normalization of the maltreatments such as dis-
crimination from the dominant group, since such maltreatments
might be perceived as the natural costs for progress or civiliza-
tion, a perceived price one has to pay in order to become as much
as like the dominant group as possible (Memmi, 1965).
The Allusion of Sisa
Going back to what I wrote at the start of this paper. I used Sisa
as a vehicle for us to further understand our present situation. I
told you that Rizal used Sisa to show the colonized status of our
country during the Spanish times.
If you still remember your Noli me Tangere, Sisa was once a sane
woman. She was mother to two fine sons and an unfortunate wife
of a brute. Like a lady of those times, Sisa suffered while she was
with her husband. She was being maltreated. Despite her sorry
state, Sisa never thought of leaving her husband, for fear of being
cursed by God. Divorce was never an option back in 18th cen-
tury Philippines. Catholicism has taken a decisive root in Philip-
pine society that divorce is a sin and domestic violence is to be
taken as part of married life.
Anyway, to make the story short, Sisa sent her two sons to a priest
to study. Being poor, Sisa thought that her sons would make good
acolytes. Acolytes enjoy food and education from the church. It
was only when she learned of the deaths of her sons that she lost
all her faith and all her confidence not just to her religion but to
life as well.
“ The Sisa Sydrome and the Root of Our Depression” an excerpt from the book, “ Bagong Istorya: Great Stories in Philippine History” by the same author
Why Rizal did used Sisa as someone representative of the Moth-
erland? For a good reason, I think.
Sisa represents every single Filipino who believes in the superi-
ority of the colonizer’s system, particularly of education. Rizal
pictured Sisa as the Motherland who sent her sons to learn more
about the colonizer’s culture and education, only to get killed in
the process.
Like two of Sisa’s sons, most of us, Filipinos go to different lands
in search of greener pastures. We assume different personalities
when we are abroad. Like programmed robots, we think that ev-
erything foreign is good, and life is better in some country than in
our own. We are lost in enculturation, that we believe everything
is better there than here. Our minds have been programmed to
accept everything foreign as something good, benevolent and
better than ours.
Just like Basilio and Crispin, we think that education is the best
answer to our poverty. A diploma from a university or college is
something of a dream since we hope to transform this diploma
into a visa someday.
From that very minute that Sisa gave his two sons to that priest,
she already lost them. The priest maltreated and eventually killed
one of her sons. This is an allusion to how colonial mentality kills
some of us.
Desirous for a better life, we succumb to the wiles of our colo-
nizer, suffering even maltreatment, yet thinking that this is just
a consequence, a “price to pay” so to speak, of a better life. We
accept the norms and culture and lifestyle of our colonizer, only
to pay for our life in exchange.
Like Sisa’s sons, we also lost our identities, our “who we are”. We
sacrificed our self-worth, our self-image, just to become at par
with our colonizers. We tried to assimilate ourselves with our
colonizer’s systems, only to realize later that doing so, we gave
not just our minds, but our very souls to the colonizer.
This “Sisa Syndrome” infects every Filipina mother who allows
her sons to dream of working and living abroad. Fact is, this syn-
drome affects every single one of us who thinks that we are an
inferior race. That we fare far worse than others. That everything
here is worthless.
Sisa reflects our collective sigh, our collective depression caused
by colonial mentality. We think that Malaysians live far better
than us that’s why many of us migrate there. We think Saudis live
far better lives than us that’s why despite the insufferable heat,
most of us desire to work there. We believe Americans have far
better lives than us, that’s why despite some Americans going
here to work, most of us scamper to the nearest U.S. embassy just
 The Sisa Syndrome and the Antidote to Our Depression
to get that visa.
The antidote for our colonial mentality
There is a cure from this Sisa syndrome, and that is, the accep-
tance of our present situation. Accepting who we really are, and
why we are economically underdeveloped than others is the first
definitive step. History is also another vehicle for us to further
understand our situation and to allow ourselves to accept our
present condition.
We start by recognizing that we are descendants of a proud race.
That we were once a glorious people who once conquered the an-
cient world with our talents, our trade, and our goods. We con-
tinually conquer the world with our excellent personal traits, our
inventions, our discoveries and our intelligence.
As what Atty. Alex Lacson wrote in his piece, “ The Filipino To-
day”, the Filipino mind is the greatest asset in the world today.
This is not something invented purely by a nationalistic mind.
This is a fact recognized even by the international community.
We, Filipinos, are the World’s Greatest Assets.
Look around you, and you’ll realize that everything you see are
wondrous works of Filipino creation. Travel abroad, and expect
to find at least one Filipino bravely holding himself up before
the rest of the world. Look at the tee-shirts you’re wearing, and
you’ll find that even its threads are probably Pinoy and even if
its “Made in China” or “Made in the USA”, chances are one of
those who sewed it and made it the best tee-shirt in the world is
a Filipino.
When the world wakes up every morning, they use a product
that is Filipino made. The bed they lie on, the soft and nice pil-
lows they rest their heads on and even those comforters they
wrap their bodies to keep warm, at least one Filipino invested his
time and skills to make it.
When the world rise from their beds, and put on those slippers,
at least a billion wears those made from the Philippines. They go
to their comfort rooms and brush their teeth and probably not
just a billion feels great using toothpaste and a toothbrush made
by Filipinos. They clean themselves up using soaps which prob-
ably came from a factory somewhere in Laguna or in Subic. And
they wash their hair using shampoos promoted by top Filipino
marketing managers and professionals.
They go to their dinner tables and chances are, they’ll find at least
one Pinoy product there. They use cutlery which material prob-
ably comes from the ore mines of the Philippines. The very wood
or steel that makes up their dinner tables are materials harvested
“ The Sisa Sydrome and the Root of Our Depression” an excerpt from the book, “ Bagong Istorya: Great Stories in Philippine History” by the same author
from Philippine forests and mountains.
Filipino hands made those excellent cuisines now being enjoyed
by the world’s rich and uber famous. Some of the world’s greatest
chefs are Pinoys, while most of the hotel staff of top 5 and 6-star
hotels around the world are Pinoys. The world is slowly warming
up with the Filipino’s version of the adobo and chicken tinola.
Filipino cuisines are starting to dominate the world’s kitchens,
with uniquely Pinoy creations being served at millions of homes
around the globe.
We eat potato chips and pizzas uniquely modified to suit Filipino
tastes. We salivate at Filipino fruits, like mangos and durians. We
lavish ourselves from the products from our seas and oceans. We
enjoy every morsel of rice which came from our fields.
When the world goes to work, they ride on modern cars pow-
ered by Filipino minds and ingenuity. Filipino hands and intel-
lect power the world’s greatest cars. Pinoy engineers now design
the most sophisticated machines inside our Ferraris, BMWs,
Chryslers and Mercedes Benz. From the headlights down to the
suspensions and wheels, there is some speck of Filipino there
for the entire world to appreciate. Fact is, those modern designs
we now see in our cars, even if it’s a Toyota or a Mitsubishi, are
mostly inventions by Filipino car designers.
Whatever the world sees in classrooms or in their work stations,
chances are, there is at least one made or invented by a Filipino.
You’ll find a Filipino in the top universities in the world, pitting
his brains against some of the world’s best. Nowadays, it’s entirely
common to hear a Filipino graduate from Harvard or Oxford.
Ivy League schools in the United States are full of Filipinos; same
goes to the top European institutions. We have some Filipinos
graduating at the top of their classes in the US military acad-
emy and commanding battalions as officers of the world’s great-
est army. And we have great Filipino academicians teaching the
world’s business titans how to run their companies.
We have Filipinos at NASA and Pinoy scientists over at BERN.
We see Filipinos tinkering with sophisticated technologies in
Japan, the United States and Europe. Filipinos are also working
as inventors of newer technologies. Those who don’t know must
know that Filipinos are also active in the fields of bio-technology,
neuroscience, and information technology. We have bio-engi-
neers who are now involved in developing creative and useful
technologies for the rest of the world to use and enjoy.
Those laptops we now currently enjoy have Filipino intellect in-
vested into it. The very chips that power those personal comput-
ers, IPods and IPods are proudly Filipino made. From the sands
of this great country comes silica, the prime component of elec-
 The Sisa Syndrome and the Antidote to Our Depression
tronic chips. And from the ore mines of Zambales and Mindanao
comes forth copper and other minerals which the world uses in
manufacturing electronic gadgets and wires. What’s important is
we Filipinos invest our minds in transforming those tiny sands
into chips that power human civilization.
We have young Pinoys like Brian Quebengco who spearheads
Inovent, a young startup company that invented the world’s first
interactive television. Despite working with meager resources,
Quebengco and his gang of Innoventors are on the verge of un-
veiling this television which will revolutionize the way the world
watches TV.
We build great ships that sail the world’s oceans and seas. Our
Filipino brothers and sisters are captains in some of the world’s
biggest oil tankers. Filipinos also dominate the world’s skies as
the most sought-after commercial and training pilots in some of
the top airlines in the world.
When the world’s businessmen enter hotels, they are welcomed
by Pinoys. When they rest in those comfy beds, a Filipino attends
to their needs. When someone enjoys a cool daiquiri in an Ibiza-
inspired pool in some resort, a Filipino probably made it for him.
Those warm meals served are Filipino made. When they leave
their hotels or resorts, a Filipino gives them his most precious
and warm smile to enliven them. Surely, millions of them when
they arrive home, a Filipino will be there to arrange their meals
and iron their clothes.
Some Filipinos command great armies of workers around the
world. They serve as managers, supervisors and field command-
ers in some of the world’s top manufacturing companies. In the
Middle East, most of those who work to harvest that black gold
are Filipino engineers. While those fields of gold in the United
States, South America, Asia and Europe are being attended to by
hardworking Filipino workers. Even our oceans are populated by
Filipinos either as sailors or captains, or in some places, Filipinos
are themselves commercial fishermen.
The world listens to Pinoy music millions of times in a day. Cha-
rice Pempengco tops the pop charts in the US every single week.
Pinoy crooners spread the message of love in most of the world’s
radios and video karaoke bars. Pinoy bands enliven the club
scene not just in Asia, but even in Las Vegas, the world’s premier
entertainment site. We are in the top opera houses, the top or-
chestras, the top rock bands and even in carnivals and festivals
around the world. Our dancers enchant the world every single
day in most of the world’s great stages.
We see Pinoy art bringing joy to millions, and Pinoy writers
weaving words into art in advertising copies around the world.
We enjoy a Mickey Mouse drawn by a Filipino animator and an
“ The Sisa Sydrome and the Root of Our Depression” an excerpt from the book, “ Bagong Istorya: Great Stories in Philippine History” by the same author
almost realistic Spider-man or a Superman flying over rooftops
and skyscrapers made by a Filipino computer animator. Some
of the world’s top comic’s characters came alive from a Filipino
sketch book, while the creepiest villains and admirable heroes
spring forth from the mind of another Pinoy.
Those games we enjoy in our PS3’s, Nintendo and PC games are
most likely produced and inspired by Filipino game creators and
animators. Even some cell phone games are Pinoy inventions.
Pinoys even dominate the martial arts world, what with Pinoys
competing in URCC and in wrestling matches. We see a Pinoy
making history as the most multi-titled pugilist in world box-
ing history. We have a Pinoy legend in billiards, another one in
professional bowling. Someday, Filipinos will dominate fencing,
wushu, amateur wrestling, swimming, even football.
Even at the world political scene, Filipino diplomats stand toe-
to-toe with the world’s greatest minds. We are considered the
world’s best in diplomatic circles. The first United Nations head
is a Pinoy. The first ever Asian to head the International Labor
Organization is a Bulakeno. And most staffers of the United Na-
tions are Filipinos.
It is most unfortunate though that despite all of these, we have a
government that is as corrupt, as chaotic and as direction-less as
an African or South American government.
Yes, we are critical players in stabilizing the world, yet, we are as
destabilized in our own country. We give order in the world, yet,
in our own soil, we are as disorderly and disorganized as some
petty state in an obscure place in the world. Our compatriots
abroad distinguished themselves as the best law-abiding citizens,
yet, in our own country, most of us distinguish ourselves as one
of the world’s dirtiest and the most despicable thrashers in his-
tory.
We spread and give light to human civilization, yet, our country
is still under a state of extreme darkness.
It is time for Filipinos to serve and be assets in their own birth-
place. It is time for Filipinos to share their talents and transform
this country and make it the best in the world. There is nothing,
oh, nothing that can prevent us from achieving what we want.
We have proven time and again that if we only pool our acts to-
gether, and use these bountiful resources in our midst, we can
achieve what others thought impossible.
Our country stands at the crossroads. One road leads to great-
ness while the other, perdition. That road to greatness is fraught
with dangers and sufferings. While the other, is as easy as cross-
ing the street, yet the end of it, damnation.
 The Sisa Syndrome and the Antidote to Our Depression
As we usher a new day under a new administration, let us seize
the moment and make a new page in our history. Let us erase
those painful memories of an evil past and try to create a better
one through unity of our minds.
There is nothing, oh nothing that can prevent a united Nation
from achieving greatness. If we all work together and think that
greatness is just an arm’s length away, nothing is impossible. Blot
out all negative thoughts and focus at the great task at hand—
rebuild this country from the ground up and establish a Nation
that is the best in the world.
We are the creators of our future. We are the creators of our own
greatness. We are great when we think and believe that we are
great. When 90 million Filipinos think great every single day, we
will achieve what no other country ever did---propel this nation
to First World status by six years.
We can do it. We can achieve what we want—a better quality of
life for all Filipinos. Let us all be engineers of our great future.
Let us all be part of this great enterprise of nation-building. Let
us share this vision to everyone who wants nothing but a better
future for himself, for his family and for his successors.
Look around you, and you’ll see a very promising landscape. Just
go to Makati and Pasay, and you’ll see the Marriott group of ho-
tels near one of our international airports. Try to go to Ayala and
you’ll find a Raffles hotel being built beside Landmark. Go out
of Metro Manila and you’ll find great resorts and hotels being
established. Check out our new airports, and bridges and roads.
These are infrastructures of our future.
Even look at yourself in the mirror and you’ll find that there is
something new, something dynamic, something promising in you
that is worth sharing with other Filipinos. Find that new thing
within you and spread it around. Instead of just being a passive
observer, be an intellectual entrepreneur. Spread that new think-
ing, your intellectual invention with other Filipinos and within a
short period of time, you’ll be the leader of a great enterprise.
Look around you, and you’ll see a silent revolution, the entrepre-
neurial revolt, spreading in every direction, in every nook and
cranny of the Metropolis and even in the remotest barangays
throughout this great nation. From thinking of just being labor-
ers and employees, a great majority of Filipinos are transforming
themselves into entrepreneurs. Yes, we are emerging into an en-
trepreneur’s hub in Asia.
What’s great, I sense that a great social infrastructure is slowly
emerging from the loins of the Filipino masses. This infrastruc-
ture is Pinoy bayanihan, the realization that every one is a patriot
in his own right, and the recognition that, as a Patriot, he is a
substantive part in that human infrastructure.
“ The Sisa Sydrome and the Root of Our Depression” an excerpt from the book, “ Bagong Istorya: Great Stories in Philippine History” by the same author
We are slowly transcending the old philosophical world-view of
individual-centric, into mass or social-centric. This is made pos-
sible by an infusion of new thinking. This new thinking is slowly
permeating the public sphere and infecting every one! The new
thinking is information-driven, and being exchanged every sec-
ond. This is the new promise, the new Hope, the new Future!
Let the new administration nurture this and serve as a guide.
Guide us towards greatness. Be an example of greatness and the
rest of the country will rise up and follow.
Rise up, o Motherland! Rise up from centuries of lethargy and be
inspired by the work of your Patriotic sons and daughters! There
is a great enterprise rising over the horizon of despair. A new Sun
has taken over the darkness. A new race of Filipinos are taking
over. Let the millions of Filipino patriots seize this moment, cre-
ate a new page in History and build a great Nation from the ashes
of disbelief and despair. Time to re-build this Nation from the
ground up! Time to create a Golden age where Filipinos are once
again proud of their heritage and of their race! We are Filipinos
and we are great.
Notes
1. http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/
view/20100820-287921/Policy-lockjaw
2. http://www.bworldonline.com/Research/populareconomics.
php?id=0102
3. http://www.migrationinformation.org/USFocus/display.
cfm?ID=364
4. http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/14/world-happiest-countries-
lifestyle-realestate-gallup-table.html
5. Ronald Inglehart et al. (eds.) HUMAN BELIEFS AND VAL-
UES: A CROSS-CULTURAL SOURCEBOOK BASED ON THE
1999-2002 VALUES SURVEYS (Mexico City: Siglo XXI, 2004).
6. David, E.J.R. & Okazaki, S. (2006a). Colonial Mentality: A
review and recommendation for Filipino American psychology.
Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 12(1), 1-16.
7. David, E.J.R., & Okazaki, S. (2006b). The Colonial Mental-
ity Scale (CMS) for Filipino Americans: Scale construction and
psychological implications. Journal of Counseling Psychology,
53 (2), 241-252.
8. http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/
view/20100903-290401/National-shame-is-global-not-Filipino