POLITICAL SELF

Political self and identity are developed through socialization, through the ways of people learn
the knowledge, norms, values, motives, and roles appropriate to their positions in a group or
community.

Abstraction

 The Philippines we know today only emerged in the 1890s after over three centuries of
colonization of the Spaniards
 Foreign culture, beliefs, language and religion have made a huge dent on our own by setting a
foundation to the contemporary Filipino identity and culture
 In this chapter, you will learn that an individual’s race, ethnicity and physical characteristics are
not the only factors that make a person’s national identity
 Values and traits are also important indicators that set apart one nationality from the other

According to the 1987 Philippine Constitution, Filipino citizens are:

 Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of the Philippines

 Those born before January 17, 1987, of Filipino mothers who elect Philippine citizenship upon
reaching the age of majority
 Those who are naturalized in accordance with law

We Identify ourselves as Filipinos. As Filipinos, we have different characteristics. Both positive

and negative:

Strengths of the Filipino Character:

 Pakikipagkapwa-tao
o Refers to openness, helpfulness, and generosity
o “bayanihan”
o Hospitality
 Family orientation
o Refers to the love for family and relatives
o Give honor and respect, care, generosity and personal sacrifices
o Sense of belongingness and security
 Joy and humor
o Can be seen especially during fiestas and social gatherings
o Refers to our behavior where we still laugh at people we love, hate, and in our good or
bad fortune
o We always find reason(s) to smile or laugh
 Flexibility, adaptability, and creativity
o We tend to adjust at any circumstances

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 o Improvise and makes use of what we have
 Hardworking and industrious
o Takes risks and works in other countries
 Faith and religiosity
o The “bahala na” mindset (serves as a kickstarter or pampalakas loob)
 Ability to survive
o All the traits mentioned
o “Matutong mamaluktot habang maikli ang kumot”

Weakness of the Filipino Character:

 Ability to survive
o All the traits mentioned
o “Matutong mamaluktot habang maikli ang kumot”
 Extreme personalism
o Refers to personally relating to things, events, and people;
o The “palakasan system” and inside connections; led to prevalence of graft and
corruption
 Extreme family-centeredness
o Concern for community and common good is less important
o Political dynasties
 Lack of discipline
o “ningas cogon”
o “Filipino time”
 Passitivity and lack of initiative
o Strong reliance on leaders and the government
o Does not contribute to solutions
o Related to our lack of discipline
 Colonial mentality
o Loves anything foreign and incorporates foreign elements
o Lose cultural indentity
o Feelings of inferiority
 Kanya-kanya Syndrome
o Related to extreme personalism and extreme family centeredness
o Personal and in-group interest are supreme
o Dampened sense of community and cooperation
o “Crab mentality”
 Lack of self-analysis and self-reflection
o The tendency to be superficial and somewhat flightly
o “madaling makalimot” or short term memory

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Establishing a Democratic Culture

Democracy

Government in which the supreme power vested in and exercised by the people
directly/indirectly through a system of representations, usually involving periodically held free elections

Features:

 Prevent cruel and vicious autocrats from ruling

 Fosters human development
 Helps protect fundamental individual rights and interests
 Provide people maximum opportunity to take moral responsibility for their choices and
decisions
 Offer relatively high chance of political equality

Adjustment of individual to the collective awareness is achieved through:

1. Formal way
a. System of ideas and models that are officially established (e.g. laws, politics)
2. Informal way
a. Acceptance of behaviors and thoughts that are not established formally (e.g. culture
(collective); Religion, science, morality, and ideology (individual))

 There should be a participative attitude for democracy to flourish

 Personality traits factor in internalizing political attitudes

How to be a Good Filipino?

1. Be an Active Filipino Citizen

a. Aware of current events and participates in government programs that aim for the
country’s progression and development
b. Exercising right to vote- every Filipino citizen of legal age have a chance in choosing the
right leaders for the Philippines who are genuine in helping and caring for the Filipino
people
2. Study the Philippine History
a. The road to history is long and bloody, and by learning and fully understanding the
events of Filipino history, you learn why is it important to love your country with your
life, extend help to your fellow Filipinos in need, and recognize abuse of political power
3. Support Local Products
a. You not only support local manufacturers and businessmen, but also strengthen the
local economy
b. Business owners will also invest within the country

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 c. Supporting our local products displays creativity, innovativeness, and resourcefulness
4. Speak the Filipino Language
a. Jose Rizal highlighted the importance of speaking a national language as a way of
displaying the love for one’s country
b. It has been a decade-long debate whether to use Filipino as the instructional language in
school and to translate textbooks into Filipino, however, this is still not strictly imposed
5. Do not spread fake news and be democratic in engaging with dissent
a. Internet has made the spread of fake news very common
b. Likewise, it has also made us engage in intense arguments with people across the globe
about political positions
c. Verify what you read online, especially in social media before actually believing in it
d. Recognize disagreement in political views, be tolerant, and argue intelligently without
having to r esort to name-calling people

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