THE POLITICAL SELF

THE FILIPINO IDENTITY

FILIPINO CULTURE: PRE-COLONIAL ERA

MALAYS
• root of beliefs and traditions of pre-colonial Philippines
• made a large contribution to the Philippine history

MALAY TEMPERAMENT
• basic factor of Filipino personality
• can be best described as “being nice and pleasant to others”

The important role of family in Filipino culture is stemmed

from the strength of Malay family clan that served as a strong
security unit.
THE FILIPINO IDENTITY

FILIPINO CULTURE: SPANISH ERA

When the Spaniards colonized the

islands, the Hispanic culture influenced
the natives. Christianity became the
most dominant religion, and a
western-based social and political
organization was established in the
Philippines.
THE FILIPINO IDENTITY

FILIPINO CULTURE: AMERICAN ERA

The Americans shaped the modern

Filipino culture, and this is primarily
manifested by the widespread use of
the English language in the Philippines
today. It was from these influences
that formed the Filipino character.
The brief occupation of British and the
Japanese, however, had no cultural
influence in the Philippines at all.
 THE FILIPINO IDENTITY

FACTORS OF FILIPINO CHARACTER

Dr. Patricia B. Licuanan write that the strengths and weaknesses of the Filipino
character is rooted in the factors, such as:

1. Home environment 6. Religion

2. Social environment 7. Economic environment
3. Culture and language 8. Political environment
4. History 9. Mass media
5. Educational system 10. Leadership and role
models
 THE FILIPINO IDENTITY

FACTORS OF FILIPINO CHARACTER

1. Home environment
• Filipino children are taught to value family and give it primary
importance

2. Social environment
• Characterized by depending on one another to survive

3. Culture and language

• Depict openness to foreign elements with no basic consciousness of
our cultural core
 THE FILIPINO IDENTITY

FACTORS OF FILIPINO CHARACTER

4. History
• Regarded as the culprit behind our colonial mentality
• Present-day media reinforced western colonial influences

5. Educational system
• Instrumental in molding the strengths and weaknesses of the Filipino
character
 THE FILIPINO IDENTITY

FACTORS OF FILIPINO CHARACTER

6. Religion
• Taught us optimism and resilience
• Also instilled in us a fatalistic attitude
• Further reinforced our being passive and a conformist
7. Economic environment
• Hard life drive Filipinos to work harder and take risks, such as leaving to
work abroad. This further developed our ability to survive.

8. Political environment
• Fraught with problems
• With the economic environment, both developed culture of corruption
 THE FILIPINO IDENTITY

FACTORS OF FILIPINO CHARACTER

9. Mass Media
• Reinforced colonial mentality through ads, music, movies, fashion.
• Through this, the emphasis on the superiority if an imported brand or
product is a part of a Filipino’s daily life

10. Leaders and Role Models

• Where a person with power is looked up to
• When our leaders violate the law and when there is lack of
accountability for leaders who break the law, the Filipino mindset is
hugely affected in a negative way
 THE FILIPINO IDENTITY

STRENGTHS OF THE FILIPINO CHARACTER

The Filipino traits listed here is certainly not exhaustive, but these are mostly what
we have in common. The strong aspects of the Filipino character are:

1. Pakikipagkapwa-tao
2. Family Orientation
3. Joy and humor
4. Flexibility, adaptability, and creativity
5. Hard work and industry
6. Faith and religiosity
7. Ability to survive
 THE FILIPINO IDENTITY

STRENGTHS OF THE FILIPINO CHARACTER

1. Pakikipagkapwa-tao
• Filipino openness
• Helpfulness
• Generosity
2. Family Orientation
• Love for family
“Strong family orientation
• Honor and respect
has given Filipinos a sense
• Care and generosity of belonging and security”
• Personal sacrifices
 THE FILIPINO IDENTITY

STRENGTHS OF THE FILIPINO CHARACTER

3. Joy and humor
• Cheerful and fun-loving

Do you CAN YOU DO

have a YES SOMETHING
problem
YES
ABOUT IT?
?
THEN
NO WHY
WORRY
NO ?
 THE FILIPINO IDENTITY

STRENGTHS OF THE FILIPINO CHARACTER

4. Hardwork and Industry
• Risk taker

5. Faith and Religiosity

• Bahala na (pampalakas ng loob)

6. Ability to survive
• Survival instinct

7. Flexibility, adaptability, and creativity

• “Matutong mamaluktot habang maikli ang kumot.”
 THE FILIPINO IDENTITY

WEAKNESSES OF THE FILIPINO CHARACTER

Pointing out weaknesses is also important because this enables the Filipino to
identify the areas that need improvement to grow and develop as a person. These
weaknesses are:

1. Extreme personalism
2. Extreme family-centeredness
3. Lack of discipline
4. Passivity and lack of initiative
5. Colonial mentality
6. Kanya-kanya syndrome
7. Lack of self-analysis and self-reflection
 THE FILIPINO IDENTITY

WEAKNESSES OF THE FILIPINO CHARACTER

1. Extreme personalism
• Palakasan
• Inside Connection
• Corruption
2. Extreme family-centeredness
• Family is valued above anything else
• Manifested in our political dynasties

3. Lack of Discipline
• Ningas cogon, or being good only at first
• Filipino time, or being late
 THE FILIPINO IDENTITY

WEAKNESSES OF THE FILIPINO CHARACTER

4. Passivity and Lack of Initiative
• Strong reliance; act of doing nothing
5. Colonial Mentality
• Loves anything foreign; inferiority complex
• Losing cultural identity
6. Kanya-kanya Syndrome
• Crab mentality
7. Lack of self-analysis and self-reflection
• Madaling makalimot
 THE FILIPINO IDENTITY

ESTABLISHING A DEMOCRATIC CULTURE

DEMOCRACY is a government in which the supreme power

is vested in and exercised by the people directly or indirectly
though a system of representation, usually involving
periodically held free elections.
Although democracy has several flaws, it also uniquely
possesses a number of features that most people
would consider desirable.
 THE FILIPINO IDENTITY

ESTABLISHING A DEMOCRATIC CULTURE

1. Democracy helps prevent cruel and vicious autocrats from ruling.

2. It fosters human development more fully than do other forms of

government.

3. Democracy helps protect fundamental individual rights and interests.

4. Democratic societies provide people the maximum opportunity to

take moral responsibility for their choices and decisions.

5. Democratic societies offer a relatively high chance of political equality.

 THE FILIPINO IDENTITY

ADJUSTMENT OF INDIVIDUAL AWARENESS

1. Formal
- systems of ideas and models that are officially
established.

2. Informal
- acceptance of behaviors and thoughts that are not
established as a formal way of interpersonal relations.