THE POLITICAL SELF AND BEING A FILIPINO

Who is a Filipino?
 Filipinos are Orientals
  People who are native to, or identified with the country of the Philippines.
Filipino Values and Traits
1. Filipino Hospitality
Filipinos welcome their guests and tourists as if they are their own brothers and sisters; they always make
their guests feel at home, offering them something to eat, or even a place to stay.
2. Respect for Elders
Filipinos greet their elders by saying “Mano po” and constantly using “po” and “opo” in conversations. There
is also a wide array of references to elder people such as ate for older sister; kuya for older brother; and so on.
3. Close Family Ties
Filipinos maintain a tight relationship with their families regardless if the children are old enough and already
have families on their own. They are also fond of family reunions during birthdays, holidays, or fiestas year-round.
4. Cheerful Personality
Filipinos have a habit of smiling and laughing a lot. They smile when they are happy, or sometimes even
when they are sad or angry. Smiling has been a coping strategy for many Filipinos specially during times of
calamities.
5. Self-sacrifice
Filipinos go out of their way to extend help to their friends, families, and loved ones. They wish comfort and
better lives for their loved ones and would even go to the extent of working abroad hundred of miles away to earn
more money and save up for them.
6. Bayanihan
It is about giving without expecting something in return. Filipinos are always ready to share and help their
friends and loved ones who are in need. It will not always be in monetary form, but the time and effort they give also
count as a form of help for them.
7. “Bahala Na” Attitude
This is the Filipino version of the famous line “Hakuna Matata”, meaning no worries. The phrase is said to
have originated from “Bathala Na”, where Bathala means God, and the phrase meaning leaving everything into God’s
hands. It can also be viewed as something similar to the cheerful and positive attitude of Filipinos and allowing
situations take care of themselves instead of worrying about them.
8. Colonial Mentality
This is regarded as the lack of patriotism and the attitude where Filipinos favor foreign products more than
their own. This does not only concern goods, but also the desire to look more foreign than local and keep up with
foreign beauty trends.
9. “Manana” Habit
This is the Filipino term for procrastination. It was derived from a longer Filipino phrase called “Mamaya na”
meaning dawdling things which could have been done at an earlier time.
10. “Ningas Kugon”
This refers to the attitude of eagerly starting things but quickly losing eagerness soon after experiencing
difficulty.
11. Pride
Most Filipinos hold on to their pride as if they are more precious than keeping a good relationship with family
and loved ones. When two parties are not in good terms, they find it so hard to apologize and wait until the other party
asks for an apology first.
12. Crab Mentality
This is a toxic trait among Filipinos where one resents achievement of another instead of feeling happy for
that person.
13. Filipino Time
Filipinos have this common attitude of arriving late at commitments especially if they are meeting someone
close to them. They tend not to observe punctuality altogether.
Filipino Markers
The following are constant reminders of our nationality.
1. Proverb or Salawikain
Filipino proverbs, just like any other proverbs, are sayings that convey lessons and reflections on Filipino
practices, beliefs, and traditions. (e.g. Kung may tiyaga, may nilaga.)
2. Superstitions
Filipinos also subscribe to their own set of superstitions passed down from generation to generation. Some of
these may be influenced by beliefs of other cultures, but have retold these superstitions according to their own
experiences and they sometimes end up even more interesting.
3. Myths and Legends
Due to the Philippine’s rich culture and history, numerous myths and legends have sprung about things that
are beyond one’s imagination. These stories aim to explain the origin of things, at the same time, teach a valuable
lesson.
4. Heroes and Icons
Heroes serve as a reminder of true patriotism and nationalism as they have sacrificed their lives for the sake
of their country’s freedom and progress.
Famous Filipino icons serve as important Filipino markers as they have made the Filipino name more
pronounced worldwide through their own expertise.
How To Be A Good Filipino
The following are a few ways on how to be a good Filipino:
1. Be an active Filipino citizen.
2. Study the Philippine history.
3. Support local products.
4. Speak the Filipino language.
5. Do not spread fake news and be democratic in engaging with dissent.

WHO AM I IN THE CYBERWORLD? (DIGITAL SELF)

Selective Self-presentation and Impression Management
According to Goffman (1959) and Leary (1995), self-presentation is the “process of controlling how one is
perceived by other people” and is the key to relationship inception and development. To construct positive images,
individuals selectively provide information about them and carefully cater this information in response to other’s
feedback.
 Anything posted online should be considered “public” no matter what our “privacy” settings are. Personal
identity is the interpersonal level of self which differentiates the individual as unique from others, while social identity
is the level of self whereby the individual is identified by his or her group membership.
Belk (2013) explained that sharing ourselves is no longer new and has been practiced as soon as human beings
were formed. Digital devices help us share information broadly, more than ever before. Sometimes people become
unaware of the extent of information they share online. They forget to delineate what can be shared online and what
should not. Furthermore, it provides a more complete narration of self and gives people an idealized view of how they
would like to be remembered by others.
People would like to remain updated and they keep on sharing themselves online because it adds a sense of
confidence at their end especially if others like and share their posts. One of the reasons of so much sharing and self-
disclosure online is the so-called “disinhibition effect”. The lack of face-to-face meeting, together with feelings of
anonymity and invisibility, gives people the freedom for self-disclosure but can also flame others and may cause
conflict sometimes. The resulting disinhibition causes people to believe that they are able to express their “true self”
better online than they ever could in face-to-face contexts. However, it does not mean that there is a fixed “true self”.
The self is still a work in progress and we keep on improving and developing ourselves every single day. Seemingly
self-revelation can be therapeutic to others especially if it goes together with self-reflection.
In addition to sharing the good things we experience, many of us also share the bad, embarrassing, and sinful
things we experience. We also react and comment on negative experiences of others. Sometimes, we empathize with
people. We also argue with others online. Relationships may be made stronger or broken through posts online.
Consequently, we should have a filtering system to whatever information we share online, as well as to what
information we believe in, which are being shared or posted by others online. We should look at online information
carefully whether they are valid and true before believing and promoting them. In the same way, we should also think
well before we post or share anything online in order to prevent conflict, arguments, and cyberbullying, and to
preserve or relationships with others.
Rules to follow
Here are additional guidelines for proper sharing of information and ethical use of the Internet:

 Stick to safer sites

 Guard your passwords
 Limit what you share
 Remember that anything you put online or
post on a site is there forever, even if you try
to delete it
 Do not be mean or embarrass other people
online
 Always tell if you see strange or bad behavior
online
 Be choosy about your online friends
 Be patient