Joecelle D.

Valenzuela, C2-03 BSED2, FEATURE STORY

The Resiliency of Filipinos: Bad or Good?

The Philippines often experiences different calamities and disasters, and now this
pandemic. Despite that, Filipinos remain to be resilient and positive seemingly immune on such
circumstances. Most Filipino survivors are able to cope with disaster experiences but others may
continuously feel anxious and reacts negatively for so long that could probably lead to mental
problems like psychological trauma if not assisted. Often, traditional and social media depict us
as a bunch of people smiling amid the face of adversity. It somehow fosters a national image of
a strong nation--the one that bounces back quickly with a joke and a smile as his or her
weapon. Seeing this somehow uplifts the spirit and hopeful that life is normal, or shall resume
normally soon.
Filipinos have been romanticizing resiliency for the past decades. However, resiliency is
not always a strength. Often, the less resilient find better ways to live so they suffer loss. The
“resiliency concept” can be the Filipinos’ coping mechanism against flooding and other
calamities at the individual level, there’s nothing wrong with this narrative: It is certainly true
that Filipinos manage to smile even in the direst of circumstances. But to equate smiling faces
with resilience, and ending the story at that, is problematic for a number of reasons. Filipinos
are known to have a strong spirit in times of calamities and the world somehow acknowledges
this thing considering the numerous typhoons and earthquakes that are experienced. However,
no matter how strong we are, still there are also limitations in our being. Filipinos still suffer
from anxiety and post-traumatic stress despite being resilient. We can put smile on our faces
but there is still some pain inside that we carry.

In any challenges; good or bad, there is really something to learn. It is the time to reflect
on our ways of dealing with life. Both the strongest and the weakest are tested, if you have
the  Perseverance in Times of Despair  then you remain to be strong, but if you play as a
victim and not to take responsibility, then perhaps you may want to become one the weakest
link. Furthermore, the resiliency of the people as provided by the respondents would often be
faith-based and reliant on traditional support systems such as the family and the community.
Filipino resiliency would also be described as founded on Filipino sense of humor and positivity
towards life. The respondents believe that they have a way of dealing with problems no matter
how grave those may be. As what Filipinos usually say, “It’s just a problem. We will not be
given a problem that we cannot handle (Problema lang yan, hindi tayo bibigyan ng problema na
hindi natin kayang lutasin)”, proves that Filipinos are found to be aware of the unproductive
nature of negative thoughts, and are consciously working to maintain a more positive outlook in
life despite trying circumstances. Thus, results have shown that how Filipinos manifest their
resiliency and coping strategies depends on how they perceive the aftermath or effects of a
disaster.