VALUES EDUCATION2

FOUNDATION OF VALUES EDUCATION

THE MANY FACES OF THE FILIPINO

WEEK9 LESSON3
There is much good in the Filipino but there is much that
needs to be changed. If we have to success in the nation
building we must start with people-building by taking a
close look at ourselves. Then we can see that many of our
strong points are also source of our weakness.
As a people we are person oriented and relationship with
others are a very important part of our lives. On the other
hand, our person oriented when carried too far, makes us
lose our objective. We also learn to ignore time honored
rules and procedures where everyone, regardless of our
relationship wit h them are treated equally. Our person
person oriented leads us to be concerned for people yet
unfair to some.
We find other contradiction in the many faces of
the Filipino. Our relationship with others
(pakikipagkapwa-tao) and our to each own
mentality(kanya-kanya) live comfortably with us.
We are other oriented and capable of great empathy
and yet we are fault-finders who are self serving
and envious of one another.
From this discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the Filipino, it is
clear that there is much that is good here, but there is also much that
needs to be changed. Many of our strong points are also the sources of
our weakness.As a people, we are person-oriented, and relationships with
others are a very important part of our lives. Thus, we are capable of
much caring and concern for others. On the other hand, in the extreme
our person orientation leads to lack of objectivity and a disregard for
universal rules and procedures so that everyone, regardless of our
relationship with them, is treated equally. Our person orientation leads us
to be concerned for people, and yet unfair to some.
Our flexibility, adaptability and creativity is a strength that
allows us to adjust to any set of circumstances and to make
the best of the situation. But this ability to "play things by
ear" leads us to compromise on the precision and discipline
necessary to accomplish many work-oriented goals.Our
sense of joy and humor serves us well in difficult times. it
makes life more pleasant, but serious problems do need
serious analysis, and humor can also be destructive.
Our faith in God and our religiosity are sources of strength and
courage, but they also lead to an external orientation that keeps
us passive and dependent on forces outside ourselves.There are
other contradictions in the many faces of the Filipino. We find
pakikipagkapwa-taoand the kanya-kanyamentality living
comfortably together in us. We are other-oriented and capable of
great empathy; and yet we are self-serving, envious of others,
and unconstructively critical of one another.
We also find the Filipino described alternately as
hardworking and lazy. Indeed we see that we are
capable of working long and hard at any job. However,
our casual work ethic as well as our basic passivity in
the work setting also is apparent as we wait for orders
and instructions rather than taking the initiative.
A well- known characteristic of Filipinos is optimism, we
always look at the brighter side of the situation, wearing
a smile is something that is natural for us to do even in
times of difficulty. As a matter of fact, in the 41st Annual
Survey Conducted by Gallup International in 2017, we
ranked third among the happiest individuals in the
world, along with Fiji (1st) and Colombia (2nd) (as cited
by CNN Philippines, 2018).
Perhaps one of the most outstanding characteristics of Filipinos
is resilience. Although Canoy (as cited by Casal, 2019) calls this
trait as “superhuman patience” which for many, is an undertone,
it is because according to him, since our country is a soft state, a
country in the third world, we do not have any other choice but
to become patient and to wait, long enough for blessings and
manna from heaven to come.
We do not have any other choice but to settle for what is left,
for some extra things that are not to be used anymore, for
some things that has been used and can still be re- used
again. In whatever form and situation this, I suppose is still
patience, ang being patient is a very good attitude, not only
in how we look at things but also on how we think of these
many things.
Filipino persistence, as what others say, also means flexibility,
we Filipinos can easily adjust in whatever situation we may
come to experience, it is after all, the best attribute of
resilience. It is easy for us to experience hardship for we are
used to experiencing it in any form and in any circumstance.
Another outstanding attribute of resilience is acceptance, it is
easy for us to accept whatever our situation may be since we
cannot do anything about it, aside from that, having the
hope that someday, everything will be in place or in order is
our constant outlook in life. From the idea of easily accepting
our fate sprung our confidence.
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!