THE POLITICAL SELF

AND
BEING FILIPINO
Lesson Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you should be able
to:

1. Develop a Filipino identity;

2. Identify different Filipino values and traits; and
3. Reflect on your selfhood in relation to your
national identity.
Who is Filipino?
According to the 1987 Philippine
Constitution, Filipino citizens are
“…those whose fathers or mothers are
citizens of the Philippines, those born
before January 17, 1973, of Filipino
mothers, who elect Philippine citizenship
upon reaching the age of majority, and
those who are naturalized in accordance
with law.”
 Citizenship is not the
only marker of being a Filipino. Culture and
history have greatly influenced the manner
Filipinos learn, live and behave to date.
People who were born and grew up in the
same culture develop and share common
personality traits and values.
 Philippines is a lush island paradise famous for
its grandiose mountain views, pristine beaches,
and rich and diverse culture changing from
province to province.
Philippines may be well known for its awe-
inspiring beauty, perhaps the Filipinos’ unique
traits, reputable values, and laudable talents make
the country a place to be.
Respect for Elders
Respect for one's elders is
traditional in the Philippines.
When a Filipino child meets an
older family member, the youth
customarily greets them with a
gesture called “Mano po”, taking
the older relative's hand and
placing it on his or her own
forehead to express profound
respect for the elder.
Close Family Ties
is an old, distinctive nature
in a typical Filipino household. It
has always been recognized as
one of the core values of Filipino
families wherein their
relationship is anchored on love,
care, and protection of one
another.
Filipino maintain a tight
relationship with their families
regardless if the children are old
enough and already have families
of their own.
Cheerful Personality
Filipinos have a habit of
smiling and laughing a lot.
Smiling has been a coping
strategy for many Filipinos
especially during trying times
and calamities.
They always try to maintain
a positive outlook in life which
makes them resilient and able
to manage almost everything
with a simple smile.
Self-sacrifice
The self-sacrificing
attitude of Filipinos can
be seen as an extension
of the Filipino
hospitality. Filipinos go
out their way to extend
help to their friends,
families and loved ones.
Bayanihan
The Bayanihan is a
Filipino custom derived from
a Filipino word “bayan”,
which means nation, town or
community. The term
bayanihan itself literally
means “being in a bayan”,
which refers to the spirit of
communal unity, work and
cooperation to achieve a
particular goal.
“Bahala Na” Attitude
This is also synonymous to the
phrase “Que sera sera” (Whatever
will be, will be), or “Hakuna Matata”
(No Worries). It leaves everything to
chance or just let the circumstances
take care of themselves, embracing
luck over good reason.
The phrase is said to have
originated from "Bathala na", where
Bathala means God, and the phrase
meaning leaving everything into
God's hands.
Colonial Mentality
Filipinos prefer foreign-
made products instead of
patronizing Philippine-made
ones. This result to higher gains
for foreign businessmen than
local businessmen. Thus, it
motivates Filipino businessmen
to improve the quality of their
products to make it more
competitive against foreign
ones.
“Mañana” Habit
This is the Filipino term
for procrastination. A poor
habit, a sign of laziness, of
leaving for a later time what
can be done at the moment
or today. Thus resulting to
stacked workload to be done
and then complain about it.
“Ningas Kugon”
Ningas Kugon “kugon” is a
kind of grass that burns easily
when dry but extinguished
easily as well. Like the cogon
grass, Filipinos start things with
great enthusiasm but at the first
sign of difficulty, the
enthusiasm is consumed as fast
as it has ignited.
Pride
Patigasan, most
Filipinos find it hard
to say “I’m sorry”
or “pasensya na”.
Their precious
pride always gets
the best of them.
Crab Mentality
A troublesome trait evident
in a Filipino where when one
sees the progress of a
comrade, the other becomes
resentful rather than happy for
the achievement. Rather than to
praise, he would highlight
everything negative about that
person in an effort to bring him
down or destroy his reputation.
Filipino Time
For Filipinos, being late
and starting things late
have always been part of
our culture. Many Filipinos
seems to either practice it
or accept it, so much that
we’ve been given a term
for it — Filipino Time.
FILIPINO
MARKERS
Proverbs or Salawikain

Like any other proverbs,

are sayings that convey
lessons and reflections on
Filipino practices, beliefs
and traditions. Damiana
Eugenio, the Mother of
Philippine Folklore, classified
proverbs into six categories
(Eugenio, 2000):
 a. Proverbs expressing a general attitude
toward life and the laws that govern life;
b. Ethical proverbs recommending certain
virtues and condemning certain vices;
c. Proverbs expressing a system of values
d. Expressing general truths and
observations about life and human nature.
e. Humorous proverbs
f. Miscellaneous proverbs
Superstitions
Some of these may be
influenced by beliefs from
other cultures, but
Filipinos have retold these
superstitions according to
their own experiences and
they sometimes end up
even more interesting.
Myths and Legends
These stories are aimed
to explain origin of things, at
the same time, teach a
valuable lesson. Some of
these stories stemmed in
pre-Christianity period, but
have evolved to the stories
we know today.
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 such as
Lea Salonga, Manny Pacquiao and
Jose Rizal, also serve as important
Filipino markers as they made the
Filipino name more pronounced
worldwide through their own
expertise.
DR. JOSE P. RIZAL
National hero of the
Philippines for his key role inspiring
and leading the Philippine
Revolution against colonial Spain.
He was a man of incredible
intellectual power and amazing
artistic talent. He excelled at
anything that he put his mind to—
medicine, poetry, sketching,
architecture, sociology, and
more.
ANDRES BONIFACIO
He was a Filipino revolutionary
hero who founded the Kataastaasan
Kagalanggalang na Katipunan ng mga
Anak ng Bayan (KKK) or Katipunan a
secret society devoted to fighting the
Spanish occupation of the
Philippines.
He also known as “Supremo”;
destined to change the history of the
Filipino people.
JOSEFA LLANES ESCODA

She was a prominent civic

leader and a social worker. She is
also well known as a Filipino
advocate of women's suffrage
and was founded of the Girl
Scouts of the Philippines.
MARCELA AGONCILLO

The maker of the

Philippine Flag under the
order of the former
president Emilio Aguinaldo.
MELCHORA AQUINO
Also known as “Tandang
Sora”.

She was 84 years old when

she became involved with the
Philippine revolution. She
largely contributed to the
Katipunan and was
nicknamed as the “Mother of
the Katipunan”.
LEA SALONGA
Best known for her roles in hit
Broadway musicals such as “Miss
Saigon” & “Les Misérables”.
Named by Disney as a “Legend”
in 2011 for her work with the company
as the singing voice of Princess
Jasmine (Aladdin) and Mulan.

Tony Best Actress Musical

Award for Miss Saigon when she
was 20 years old.
 MANNY PACQUIAO

“Fighter of the Decade”

The most famous Filipino

professional boxer and the only
eight-division world champion
which made him popular in the
boxing field.
MICHAEL CINCO
He’s a Dubai-based
Filipino designer.
It was in 2011 when he rose to
fame as he won as Breakthrough
Designer in the WGSN Global Fashion
Award in New York, as he bested out
other finalists from UK, Asia, and
America.
He has dressed Paris Hilton,
Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Beyonce,
Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna, Aishwarya
Rai, Christina Aguilera and others.
CATRIONA GRAY
She’s a Filipino-Australian
beauty who represented the
Philippines and became the
fourth Filipina to win the crown
as the Miss Universe 2018.

The other three were Gloria

Diaz in 1969, Margie Moran in 1973
and Pia Wurtzbach in 2015.
RONALD ALLAN K. POE
Being the “Action King of
the Philippine Movies”.

FPJ or Da King was

commended by President
Aquino for his high and
immeasurable contribution not
only to the development of the
film industry in the country but
a good example to the nation as
well. He was honored as
National Artist in 2006.
1. Be an active Filipino citizen

Is aware of the current

events and participates in
government programs that aim
for the country’s progression
and development. By simply
exercising your right to vote,
you also become an active
citizen.
2. Study the Philippine history
By learning and fully
understanding the events of
the Philippine history, you will
learn so much as to why it is
so important for you 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
You do not only
support local
manufacturers and
businessmen, but you
also help strengthen
the local economy.
4. Speak the Filipino languange
Rizal highlighted the
importance of speaking a
national languange as a way
of displaying the love for
one’s country.
Speaking Filipino also
serves as a unique identifier
of being Filipino.
5. Do not spread fake news and
be democratic in engaging with
dissent to understand
It is part of being a good Filipino
and verify what you
read online, especially in social media,
before actually believing in it and
spreading it like wildfire.
Responsibility of every Filipino to
recognize disagreement in political
views, be tolerant, and argue
intelligently without having resort into
name-calling people.