Social, political, economic and cultural issues in Philippine history

Instructions:

Come up with a group of 4-5 members each. Read and analyze the different topics given
previously, you may assign the topics to each member but be able to collate the answers
as a group. Choose your own group. Submit your output per group.

I. Answer the questions concisely

A. Rizal the Social Critic

1. Do you think the social cancers exposed by Rizal are the same
social problems that the Filipinos are experiencing today? Why?Cite
specific examples.

The Social Cancer that we are experiencing today and that exists in this
modern era is known as "Social Media." It is similar to what Rizal exposed
previously, but people intend to use it to cause havoc in society. Social media was
designed to allow people to easily communicate, be entertained, and share
information, but instead it is used for bullying, bashing, toxicity, and other negative
activities. It's unfortunate that Filipinos do this to their own race. Just by posting
your opinion on something, many people will contradict and judge you harshly as
if they know your entire being.

This generation's culture and beliefs have been influenced by social media
society. A platform intended for communication and entertainment that has
devolved into a source of rage, contention, depression, and competition. It is a
growing disease in society, with people doing unnecessary things for the sake of
gaining attention.Social media is not harmful to society unless it is used for its
intended purpose.
2. Do you agree with Constantino that "It was foolish of Basilio to think that the
business of student is only to earn a diploma and become a prosperous man
afterwards". Why?

First of all Constantino is a famous Filipino nationalist historian and he

published the article entitled, ‘’The Mis-education of the Filipino’’. So on his article
he argued that education was an instrument of American colonial policy designed
to divide society and hinder nationalistic development in the Philippines. Yes I
agree with Constantino because we should study not just to earn diplomas but the
important thing in studying is that it has an essence to makes us grow with
knowledge that we can used to fight and protect ourselves afterwards. But in some
reasons maybe there is a point of Basilio that it is true, because we don’t know
each of us are thinking or what we are aiming.

Yes I admire Constantino’s intellectual generosity, because he played a key

role in the publication of documents or publications that under minded his own
research. Everyone deserves the highest honour because everuyone is capable
of doing whatever we think is the best. Aside Constantino tends to challenge his
readers to be critical in attributing our history and the works of people behind it.
Constantino was trying to elaborate how shallow our knowledge about Rizal is and
how this ignorance can be used to challenge we are now going through. To say
the least, Constantino was merely saying that social demands change overtime
and so, we do not need to fully rely on Rizal’s national goals alone. We should
learn from the weaknesses of great men and women of our history just like how
we looked up to their strengths.
B. The Miseducation of the Filipinos

1. Today, English is the lingua franca of the world. Our English competence
has put us in an advantage position over our Asian neighboring countries.
Do you think our English competence is considered anti or pro
development?

The significance of English speakers acquiring other strategic languages is

not diminished by the development of English as the modern lingua franca. But
rather we share best practices in English teaching and learning with partner
nations all around the world as part of our mission. English occupies a unique
position in the Philippine educational system and maintaining good English
standards is crucial for the country's economy and future growth. We're excited to
collaborate with partners on further projects to improve English teaching and
learning in this country.

First and foremost, English is the language of business, growth, and

prosperity. The ability to communicate with the widest possible customer base
necessitates proficiency in English, and cross-language negotiations in a shared
third language can be more successful than using either company's native tongue.
Furthermore, the language of instruction and research is English. English language
abilities are essential for admission to many prestigious colleges in the United
States, as well as in Europe, Australia, and other parts of the world. Moreover,
English competence has geostrategic advantages. A strong basis of English ability
is required for countries that seek to orient their broader interactions toward the
West.

The adoption of English as a medium of instruction in the Philippines does

not imply that we must abandon our native tongue. Despite the fact that English is
given a lot of time, attention, and importance, Filipino is still regarded important.
The debate about whether English should be used as a medium of instruction may
seem interminable, yet in other nations, such as Japan, teaching English has
become a multibillion-dollar industry, and the same is true in other East Asian
countries. The usage of the English language by all Filipino citizens is extremely
beneficial since it serves as a bridge of communication and understanding across
many cultures and nations.
2. . Constantino says that "a proper understanding of our history...will serve to
demonstrate how our present has been distorted by a faulty knowledge of
our past. "Do you agree with him? Why?

Yes, nobody can be completely confident of the past's exact truth. Some
realities we learned through books and others from our forefathers and mothers,
but there will always be a gap in the tale that will never be filled unless we strive to
uncover the entire missing piece. What I'm saying is that we shouldn't endorse a
claim based on what we read and/or heard anywhere if we can't be totally positive
about it.

We should be skeptical of the information that we are given. It's not like
there's anything wrong with it, and it's actually the most sensible course of action.
If we discover that the information is suspect, we will know that it is incorrect; as a
result, we will not believe it and will not feed false information to society. If we
discover that the knowledge is perceptible, we will be able to exploit it to our benefit
indefinitely.

Our civilization, culture, and identity have all been molded by our history. In
order to comprehend our current situation, we must consider what occurred to our
forefathers and mothers. You may see why we didn't grow along such lines if you
look at history and how our heroes raised our national language, as well as the
attempts of the Americans during the commonwealth to erase Spanish influences
and westernize us. History enables one to comprehend the enormous complexity
of our world and, as a result, to deal with the difficulties and opportunities of the
present and future. History gives us a sense of belonging. We've learnt and seen
the beginnings and evolution of our country via Philippine history
C. Property Rights and Land Markets

1. Desmond Tutu once said, " When the missionaaries came to Africa they had
the Bible and we had the land. They said, " Let us pray." We closed our eyes.
When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land. " How would
you relate this staement with the land reform issues and problems of the
Filipinos wiht their clonizers.

We all know that our colonizers, Spaniards, was the one who brought
Christianity in the Philippines. And generally even today, most of the Filipinos
where Christians. Our believes were highly influenced by them.

But when we look deeper about their motives in bringing Christianity in our
land, we will realized that it is just one of their schem to gain and deceive Filipinos.
They use the doctrines/ teachings of the religion for the Filipinos to obey them.

It is true that we adopted Christianity but that was their way to control the
minds of Filipinos and gradually they executed their true motives, which is to take
the lands of Filipinos.

2. React on this statement; "Agrarian reform is fundamental to the search for

peace in the country." Akbayan

Philippines is abundant with agricultural lands and it is one of the main

source of living of our people. Agriculture is one of the back-bone of our economy.

It is thue that agrarian reform can be a tool to provide peace in our

country.But, with the government and people that we have now. it is impossible to
implement this because of different factors.

First, Filipinos are greedy of 'their lands'. They will not let the government
to take it just to give it to their felllow Filipinos. Many misunderstandings are
because of these Land issues.

Second, remote areas were resided by the terrorist group like

CCP/NPA/NDF so government can't reach the lands there because it is controled
by their enemies. When government will step on those lands, they will surely clash.

Third, we all know how trashy our government is, I doubt they will distribute
the lands to every Filipinos equally
D. Annointing Powers with Piety

1. Are you in favor of the move of Duterte's admintration to replace unitary state
with a federal one? Why?

No, In the unitary system of government, the supreme political power is held
by the Parliament, executed or implemented by the President. The other parts or
provinces of the country each have their own local governments Units who are
dependent to the National Government. There is a single taxation Rules and
Procedures and the National Government controls the National Treasury. History
had proven the propensity of one who holds the power to control he entire country
despotically and yo serve his advantages and personal interest

On the other hand, Federalism, or the relationship between a central (often

national) government and its political sub-units often provinces can exist in many
different forms.

While in a unitary government, all the powers of government are vested in

the central government, in a federal government -- the powers of government are
divided between the centre and its units. The noted advantages of a federal system
is that it have decentralized leadership that may protect us from tyranny, dispersing
power, increasing citizen participation, and increasing effectiveness, budgetary
independence but it can also sometimes create divisionism, segregation,
increasing inequalities between rich provinces as States and poor province.

GROUP MEMBERS:

KAILAH LUNASCO

PHILIP MACUGAY

ARIEL GANGANI

VANESSA ABENES

ANTONETTE CRUZ