One Hong Kong resident commented that if a political and economic crisis of the

magnitude that we were in had taken place in another country, there would be so
many suicides. People jumped from subways and kill themselves just because
they got divorced or lost their job. In the Philippines the underground economy
goes to work and tides the populace over. Bombs rain on Mindanao and people
come out of the rubble smiling. 

The Filipino smile? It's a coping mechanism. Like his sense of humor. "Ang Pinoy
ay matiisin," Dolphy explains. "Kahit naghihirap na, hindi 'yan lugmok na lugmok.
Natatawanan nya ang buhay, kahit kung minsan hindi naman talaga
nakakatawa." 

Sociologist Jose Miranda expresses special admiration for the persistent optimism
of the rural poor. The overseas worker is the highest risk taker. All her life she has
yearned to improve her family's lot with no capital, except optimism. She grows
up in a small barrio without any exposure to another culture, figuratively rides the
carabao to town, then sells it to buy a boat ticket to the city. In Manila she sells all
her jewelry she has gathered from her relatives to buy a plane ticket to a foreign
land.