Module 9: Political Self

• Filipino identity


  Explained by 3 facets: socio-political dimension, cultural roots, consciousness
• Socio-political dimension


  A Filipino is a citizen of the Republic of the Philippines with rights and privileges to participate in political activities and affairs
• Definition of Filipino (1987 constitution, Article VI, Section 1)


  • Born in the Philippines
  • Having parents who are citizens of the Philippines
  • Born before January 17, 1973 of Filipina mothers
  • Naturalized in accordance to the law
• Culture


  All socially learned behaviors, beliefs, feelings and values the members of society experience, affecting almost every aspect of an individual socially, economically, and politically
• Cultural roots


  Culture shapes the way we think, do things, how we feel, behave and relate, and our values are likewise, the products of culture
• Types of political involvements

  • Political engagement as proactive engagement in the public arena (e.g. campaigning, joining rallies)
  • Political participation in any organization to address social problems (e.g. community organizing)
• Consciousness


  The psychological dimension or awareness of oneself as a Filipino, leading to pride of being a Filipino
• Captive consciousness is still prevalent in Filipinos primarily because of their long period of colonization
• The Filipino consciousness was shaped and developed to fit the needs of the colonizers
• There is a need to counter this consciousness by instilling a kind of nationalist consciousness, especially among the youth
• Hospitability


  • Filipinos are usually friendly and welcoming to guests, making the Philippines a favorite destination for tourists
• Adaptability and resilience


  • Despite calamities, Filipinos are persistent in getting back on their feet, even without solid government help
  • Filipinos can adapt to any environment and mingle with any people
• Resourcefulness and creativity


  • Filipinos are known for ingenuity and creativity in art, music, science, technology and business
  • Filipinos can come up with brilliant ideas despite poverty or lack of resources
  • Filipinos are good at recycling trash into ingenious products
• Faithfulness


  • Filipinos remain faithful to their religion and hopeful for a better tomorrow
  • Filipinos' faithfulness and hopefulness keep them kind, positive, peaceful and determined to achieve their goals
• Unity in bayanihan spirit


  • Filipinos have close relationships with neighbors, helping each other and organizing community events
  • Filipino communities are organized to make fiestas, festivals and other events lively and colorful for visitors
• Thriftiness


  • Many Filipinos are frugal, shopping wisely to save money for future uses
  • Filipino parents make sacrifices to save money to buy things that make their children happy
• Politeness


  • Filipino children and young people use respectful words like "po" and "opo" and the "mano po" gesture to show respect to elders
  • Filipino workers address customers with "sir" or "ma'am" to show humility and honor in serving them
• Jolliness and sense of humor


  • Filipinos remain smiling, positive and hopeful even in the face of tragedy
  • Filipino humor is evident in comedy films, TV shows, and everyday interactions
• Discretion and dignity


  • Many Filipinos still observe delicadeza, thinking twice before making decisions that can affect their dignity and honor
• Gratefulness


  • Filipinos don't forget those who have helped them, building monuments to show respect and gratitude
  • Filipinos show warmest gratitude to international communities who have helped them rebuild after disasters
• Honesty and commitment


  • Filipinos try their best to fulfill promises, seeing it as a great self-fulfillment
  • Filipinos are candid, telling others frankly what they think
• Family-oriented


  • Filipinos are willing to make big sacrifices to ensure a good life for their loved ones, even working abroad to achieve this
• Crab Mentality


  Behavior of preventing someone from achieving something due to jealousy or envy. Instead of praising or rendering assistance, someone with crab mentality would think "if I can't have it, then you can't as well" and will purposely try to bring his/her victim down; nothing ever gets accomplished.
• Ningas Kugon


  One reason why we sometimes exert half-hearted effort in our undertakings. Refers to the initial great enthusiasm at the beginning of a project, but the eagerness fades away just as quickly as the fire is extinguished, leaving the work either half-baked or unfinished.
• Mañana Habit


  Procrastination, an "ability" Filipinos have turned into an art form. Even the most urgent of projects and tasks can be relegated for some other time; we are only forced to work on them when the deadline is near.
• Filipino Time


  The Filipinos' own unique brand of time, which is known to be minutes or hours behind the standard time. In other words, we tend not to observe punctuality at all.
• Being Onion Skinned or Balat-sibuyas


  Filipinos are famous for being easily slighted at perceived insults. While it's perfectly normal for us to taunt and criticize others, we can't handle the same when it's being hurled back at us.
• Disregard for Rules


  Filipinos from the entire social strata nonchalantly breaking the rules, whether it is something as benign as jaywalking or as dangerous as beating the red light. This behavior is ingrained in our culture due to the oppression under colonization.
• Colonial Mentality


  A preference for all things foreign over our own, a negative trait we acquired from our days under the Spanish and the Americans. We have been indoctrinated with the misconception that our culture is inferior to that of our past colonizers.
• Balikbayan Box Mentality


  People either become exploitative or jealous of the success of the OFW, not knowing that he/she is working hard away from his loved ones in a foreign country.
• Bahala na Attitude


  The Filipinos' own version of fatalism, the belief of leaving everything to the hands of fate. This attitude can promote a sense of helplessness and resignation of one's fate at the local level, and a countrywide lack of empathy and collective action on the national level.
• Corruption


  One of the biggest social ills our country has continued to face since time immemorial, embedded deep within our system and reinforced by a complex web of economic and social factors.
• Maintaining Double Standards


  This behavior can be observed in just about every sector of Philippine society, with the most common example being the condemnation of an adulterous woman while applauding a polygamous man.
• Excessive Partying


  Filipinos tend to overdo it when it comes to celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, and even somber funerals. A host would sometimes even strain his own finances just to impress his guests.
• According to Aristotle, man is a “political animal”, other people might easily interpret this as something that refers to the intrinsic desire of every human being to lead or govern. This is far from what is meant by the Philosopher. Similar to being a social animal, humans come together and form a political body. The creation of a political body is intended for the attainment of a good life.
• Kendall (1998) defines politics as a social institution through which power is acquired and exercised by people and groups. In Aristotle’s work, Politics, he describes the role that politics and the political community must play in bringing about the virtuous life in citizenry. Politics is an important part of human development because it promotes ideologies about democracy, citizenship, human rights, freedom, family, health and other social issues. Politics exists in all human power and understand proper functioning of a democratic society as a citizen. 
• Stevens, Anglin and Jussim (2015) cite that in some people, politics is a central component of their identity. For other, politics may be a more peripheral concern but temporarily becomes a central one in certain situations. The political community where one belongs offers an important opportunity for them to define themselves and provide opportunities to satisfy their needs for affiliation. The political self organizes one’s beliefs, attitudes and affiliation. People use their political values and belief systems to themselves as unique individuals in society.
• Political Culture is the pattern of individual attitudes and orientation towards politics among members of a political system. (Almond and Verba, 1965).
• Characteristics of Political Culture in the Philippines

  • Dominance of family ties or kinship system
  • Political dynasties usually control the government
  • Euphemism - Officials and employees in lower positions are not frank or straightforward in criticizing officials of higher rank
  • Utang na Loob - Filipinos feel obliged to pay immediately or in the future any favor they receive from another person
  • Sense of overdependency - Some constituents rely on elected official or a "patron" politician for their personal and economic needs
  • Belief that majority of politicians are corrupt
  • Lack of political maturity - People elect officials based on popularity and personality and not on performance and platform
• Parinig or patutsada


  Used in confronting to address the problems or issues instead of being frank or straightforward