Why I Love the Philippines/Filipinos

By: Bob Boyer

 

Last January 20, I gave a talk on the Philippines to a classroom filled with about fifty people. They were participants in the LIR (Learning in Retirement) Program at the UW-Green Bay. I followed my usual procedure and asked my wife to look over my presentation materials the evening before. She invariably has a few helpful criticisms. This time she advised me to drop half of the entire presentation.

“Why don’t you tell them why you love the Philippines and the Filipinos,” she said. “That’s what people want to hear about. The two maps from your book and the part on ‘Language and Culture’ are good. But the rest (a page heavy with historical details) is too much.” Noting the pained expression on my face, my wife asked me directly, “why do you love the Philippines and Filipinos?”

I didn’t have a ready answer. No one had ever asked that during all the years (22 this spring) since I had indeed fallen in love with the country and people. “I don’t know,” I said in a cranky voice. I went back to my office to sit and pout. To my surprise—and relief—answers started to trickle and then rush through my thick skull. I jotted down the following as they came.

Filipinos are warm and welcoming. They clearly even liked me. They took time out from their busy schedules to help me get acclimated.

Filipinos like Americans. They have largely adopted our language along with their own. They love movies, soap operas and beauty contests. Most of all they like American democracy and expanded upon it in the “People’s Revolution,” the non-violent (EDSA) Revolution of 1986. They elected Corazon Aquino at the ballot box and marched to back her election when Marcos tried to take it away. They are natural “peoplepower” democrats. They fought alongside Americans against the Japanese. They were fighting for the Philippines.

Filipinos give each other nicknames that stick for life. I can’t explain this one, but I find it fascinating and charming.

I’m a feminist. Women in the Philippines basically tell the men what to do. They are typically better educated. Before Christianity, they were largely a matriarchal society with religious leaders called Babaylans, who were often women. In fact, the Spanish were well-received because their Catholicism was so strongly Marian. There is a strain of machismo, but overall women rule. They’ve had two women presidents.

Filipinos have a strong spiritual side. Roughly 80 million of the 100-plus million people are Catholic, many of them observant. The University of the Philippines Diliman (UP) where I taught had a Protestant and a Catholic church on campus. The latter had services on the hour from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. every Sunday. I could never find an excuse not to go. Those who don’t go to church still believe in a spirit world that possesses “anting-anting” (magic).

Food. Pancit (Canton, my favorite), fresh mangos, fish, pastries, adobo, rice. I had rice and eggs for breakfast, and I had rice and rice for lunch. I even liked Jolibee noodles.

Ocean. The Philippines has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I found that out in Palawan. Definitely on the beaches, “it’s more fun in the Philippines.”

Climate. Today (January 20) it’s about 80 degrees there. February and March are even “more fun in the Philippines,” but check the forecast for typhoons.

Art. The amount of artistic output at first surprised me for a developing country, but then I thought again. Art expresses the condition of the people, including their needs. Art is everywhere: restaurants, banks, mega malls (whole floors).

Books. Heritage Bookstores right next to the mega mall art galleries. Great writers.

They take responsibility for each other. Not necessarily the big landowners, but the other folks do, including the other poor. UP has lots of bleeding-heart liberals on the faculty and staff. Large portions of the vast campus house rather comfortable shanty towns.

It’s break time. Back in ten minutes for Language and Culture.

Contact Bob Boyer (please!) at Robert.boyer@snc.edu or <anamericaninmanila.com>.