Why there’s hope and the ‘Pwede na’ mentality

By Erwin Oliva – August 30th, 2010

Yahoo! Southeast Asia
I’m writing this opinion piece as a direct reaction to a Huffington Post
article on the recent hostage crisis and Venus Raj’s supposed blunder
in the concluded Miss Universe pageant. One question was posed, as
this article ended: How much are Filipinos demanding of themselves?
Mr. Wagner wrote: “I came to the conclusion that in spite of all the
things the Philippines has going for it, its people didn’t demand enough
of themselves, or of their government. Political apathy and a
willingness to accept a low common denominator of performance have
taken their toll on the psyche of the Philippine people.”
I’m teaching now at the University of the Philippines. Apart from
imparting lesson on how to write for a popular audience, I’m sharing
values and life’s lessons. Every writing exercise also aims to build
confidence. From these exercises, I’m hoping to drill the point that
they should strive for excellence.
Once I was asked why I decided to teach. My reply: I see hope in these
kids. That may sound corny, but it’s true. There’s nothing more
satisfying than knowing that after weeks of sharing lessons in writing,
they will also realize I’m future-proofing them. I learned this lesson the
hard way.
I made mistakes—but there was none that I would have regretted. So
this would explain Venus’ “major, major” answer that has been turned
into a running joke. At such a young age, Venus sees hope. So when
asked what was the biggest mistake she has done in her life, and what
could have she done to correct it, she didn’t pick a specific incident.
We all make mistakes in life and we learn from it. No regrets. In my
book, that’s an honest answer to a very difficult question.
Reacting to a post I made on Facebook about the HuffPost article,
Filipino journalist Luz Rimban thinks that “even when success should
be within reach, we often don’t ensure it, or don’t set ourselves up to
succeed. It’s not just the ‘pwede na’ [That’s good enough] mentality.
It’s the lack of competitiveness, the absence of the fight-to-the-finish,
all-or-nothing mentality that drives others to be the best they can be.
Filipinos just make do. But the situation is different when Filipinos go
abroad, however. Nag-iiba na mindset nila [Their mindset changes].”
On August 23, 2010, the world watched a desperate former policeman
take hostage of innocent tourists in Manila. As I watched events unfold,
I felt sadness and anger. For a country wanting hope, this is another
black-eye. The day-long hostage drama ended in a bloodbath. The next
day, Venus who was touted as one of the top Ms. Universe candidates
supposedly choked when asked a difficult question. Somehow, some
local and foreign observers connected this event to the August 23
hostage fiasco.
Is this a reflection of the Philippine society? Do Filipinos love shooting
themselves on the foot? Mistakes are repeated, giving out the
impression that we don’t learn from history? Sad, but it’s true.

Jojo Ayson, another Filipino who reacted to my question on Facebook,

offered this opinion: “As a general rule of thumb, we should all demand
more from ourselves and strive to be better. I agree that we have to
demand more from ourselves in the situation and not continue with a
‘pwede na’ attitude. Even if things did go better there is always room
for improvement. That said, regardless of where you stand on the level
of competency displayed I think we can all agree that we could have
done better. The key is in striving to be better. If we had that attitude
then we will no longer fall victim of ‘pwede na.’”
Indeed, Filipinos do demand from themselves a lot. Our pursuit of
excellence is reflected in our sheer determination to survive the
onslaught of negative forces shaping society. I saw this during Ondoy
where unsung heroes thrived. The country witnessed this when the
people toppled a dictatorship in 1986. I was there when Filipinos
decided to boot out Estrada from government.
And who can deny that Manny Pacquiao is one shining example of the
Filipinos’ pursuit of excellence. He epitomizes the Filipinos’ struggle to
become the greatest in what they do.
In a recent lunch conversation with a friend who read a draft of this
piece, she offered this insight: our pursuit of excellence is relative to
our situation. For most Filipinos living in poverty, finding a decent job
to pay for a decent meal drives them to demand more from
themselves.
Overseas Filipino workers decide to leave their families to work abroad
–sometimes in harsh conditions – to provide them a better future.
One would argue that the abovementioned examples are natural
reactions to situations where government has failed to provide jobs for
its booming population.
The Filipinos’ psyche is indeed intriguing, as Mr. Wagner pointed out in
his article.
“If the Philippines wants to get its act together and live up to its
potential, it needs to demand more of itself. It can achieve this by
stopping making excuses for its failures and ending its acceptance of
the lowest common denominator,” Mr Wagner posed.
If you look at Philippine history, we Filipinos have risen to the occasion
many times over to topple a dictatorship, to boot out corrupt
government officials, and correct a misdirected government. In short,
we’re still hoping to change for the better, and if it takes a lifetime to
achieve that, then so be it.
I don’t expect changes to happen overnight, as world histories have
taught me. But it is clear from our vantage as Filipinos that hope is not
so far off. Not everyone accepts the lowest common denominator, and
we’re not going to make any excuses for our law enforcers’ or even
media’s failures.