Benedicto A. Pintor Jr.

Filipino Philosophy
Prelims

“Tao po, tao po”

We Filipinos are rich in culture and tradition, which was passed down from generation to
generation. One of these is our practice in the superstitious beliefs, in which we Filipinos show
fear and respect by saying “tao po, tao po” to beings that we do not see or we call “inkanto” or
“aswang”, the term “tao po, tao po” is said when we go to places that are not common like the
hills, forests, rivers, cemeteries and abandoned places, because we Filipinos believe that those
places are filled with “inkantos” or “aswangs”, and if we do not show them proper respect,
they will cause us severe sickness or we will get hurt, the symbolism of the term “ tao po, tao
po” means that we acknowledge a superior being and we show fear and respect, so that we are
hurt or bothered with.
In a historical manner, this belief was given to us by a foreign nation, which is Spain; during the
time, they invaded our country and made it into one of their colonies. They made this belief
that there were “inkantos” and “aswangs” hiding in hidden places, that comes out during the
night to kill and eat people who were still outside, but in reality, they only made this belief so
that they can prevent a rebellion by the Filipinos, by making them fear to go outside during
night time and avoid going to abandoned places, this strategy proved to be an effective way in
stopping the Filipinos having a meeting at night time or having a gathering in forests and hills,
but soon we Filipinos found a way so that we may go outside during the night, and that was the
use of the term “tao po, tao po”, but after the time we were invaded and became an
independent country, the term was only used to scare children not to go outside during dark or
to come home early.
Now, I choose this belief in the Filipino culture, because I found it similar to the philosophical
doctrine of a western philosopher, and that philosopher was St. Thomas Aquinas, who was born
in 1225 at Roccasecca in Italy. He studied at the university of Naples and then joined the
Dominican order a highly intellectual order of friars, against the wishes of his family. As a
novitiate he studied in Paris and then in Cologne under the German Aristotelian theologian,
Albert the Great. Returning to Paris, he became professor of theology, before leaving to travel
around Italy teaching for 10 years, and I choose him and his western philosophy, because he is
well educated in religion, and he believes in beings that are higher than man, in which his
philosophical doctrine about transcendental beings, that discuss about a higher form of being
that has a beginning, but has no end, that is known to man and is respected by man, because
these higher form of beings have attributes that surpass an ordinary person and can cause a
change in a man’s was of living, by intervention, which is very similar to the Filipino belief of
“inkantos” and “ aswangs” which in Filipino culture has a higher form of being, because the
Filipinos believe that “inkantos” and “aswangs” possess supernatural powers, like being
invisible to normal people, has the ability to change into shape and size and possess incredible
strength and knowledge.
In my evaluation, about the Filipino belief on respecting higher forms of beings, and
acknowledging their presence in our daily lives. I found out that it is very similar to the western
philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, which talks about the presence of a higher form of being
that can intervene in the lives of a daily man, and the truth value of this belief specifies on
showing acknowledgement and respect to higher forms of beings, which in Filipino belief is
called “inkanto” or “aswang”, and in the philosophical doctrine of St. Thomas Aquinas is called
transcendental beings, and in my conclusion I can say that this is important, because it shows
how we acknowledge our imperfection as composed beings, and that we know that there are
beings which are in a higher state of perfection than us, and by showing them respect we
recognize their higher form of perfection.