Patriotic Filipinos and the Impositions of the Americans

We started our second week driving north to Banaue and Baguio City. The car ride was uncomfortable with more bodies than seats to hold them which reminded me of stories from my mom. She has nine brothers and sisters so traveling together was rarely an occurrence, but when it did happen, everyone would pile into my grandpa’s little 5-seater car. Vising relatives in the mountain provinces was one such occasion. Curled in a ball on the floor, I gave up the battle for sleep and sat up to watch the scenes as we drove up the mountain. We passed several semi-trucks and although shacks and tin houses lined the side of the road, I knew this was obviously the main route for transportation.  Alcantara and Bose both commented on the importance of these mountain roads for access to Baguio as the “summer capital” and R&R spot for US forces. Seeing the roofs of these tiny houses littered with Coke-a-cola advertisement billboards is a reminder today of the true selfish motives of the US in the Baguio gold mines.

From family and friends who knew Baguio growing up, I’ve always heard that they don’t like going there anymore. They say it’s dirty, crowded, and not as nice as it used to be, but never any comments on how it came to be that way. Bose attributes this change to the post-Camp John Hay growing desire of Baguio to be a “world-class” tourist center; an expensive lifestyle that could not be supported by the people who lived there, and so areas of tin houses popped up around the city. It is a frustrating case of unidentified (by most) systemic oppression. Half the city struggles for necessities of life while the lawns of John Hay golf course and the mansion continued to be watered and maintained daily.

The President's Mansion

Part of the Rizal Exhibit (teamManila.com)

When we returned to Manila, we visited Ayala museum. They were celebrating the 150^th year anniversary of Jose Rizal’s birth and had several exhibits on his life, but I found the exhibit on the Aquinos to be very interesting as well. I knew a little about Ninoy Aquino as a national hero who was the frontrunner to bring an end to the Martial Law of Marcos, but the exhibit was surprising. It showed some pictures from his wedding to Corazon and early childhood in the Philippines, but most of the memorabilia were from the time he spent in the States. Pictures of him and the kids, a paper weight from Harvard, a pocket watch – all from the States that it made me think of him as a modern day Magsaysay who created “the illusion that the Filipino could remain a patriot even as he continued to cater to the political and economic impositions of the Americans” (Lumbera). The Philippines is a proud nation, here and abroad – I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen a Filipino Flag hanging from the driver’s mirror in Seattle. I wonder if these patriotic Filipinos are able to stay proud and not do anything about the poverty and problems Philippines knowing that the country is working towards becoming more like the United States and Western countries, when really trying to be like the US is what perpetuates many of the problems here.

One of the few groups in the upper class of the Philippines is the national bourgeoisie. One of the families from my church is part of this group and I spent one day in their life this week. After the morning church service, I went to eat lunch at one of their restaurants. In the past 3 years they have be able to open up 5 successful chains of their store around Metro Manila. After a short siesta at their beautiful house in Quezon City, we went to the grand opening of their fifth store in a new mall. The grand opening was a VIP event, ticket-only entry, with a long buffet tables for all three stories of the mall. It started with a blessing from a priest and was followed by a parade of three people dressed in traditional Chinese costume and masks and three colorful dragons (the colors of the flag red, blue, and yellow). At first I was wondering why the hosts were dressed in traditional Chinese attire and why that was the theme of this opening of a mall in the Philippines. Then I remembered Dr. Jose discussing how many of the business owners here are actually Chinese foreigners just here for business. My family friends were one of a just a few local businesses in the mall, right next to its big-name, international competitor, Red Ribbon.

After the priest had blessed every store, they did a candy and coin toss. Each dragon had a large basket full of gold coins (5peso and 25centavo pieces) and candy to toss into the audience of children. When the adults caught on that there were 5peso coins being tossed out, they scrambled out onto the floors and tables to catch as much as they could also. As I watched from the second story balcony, I could only think of the small children outside of SM begging and selling small trinkets to foreigners, some of those children the same age as the ones here. It reminds me how much weight of who you are and what you’ll have is determined by your family name and how much harder it is to change economic classes here.

The Coin Toss
stereotypical Chinese characters - bottom center, dragons - bottom right

We visited the Commission on Filipinos Overseas and received a really good overview of some of the issues that are concerning the country today including human trafficking and the cost and system of education (set up by the Americans, but not honored on the same level as schools in the US). We were also given the chance to speak to parents and children who were about to move to the United States as permanent residents. It was an emotional day for everyone, trying to give advice and encouragement to those future immigrants when we knew the truth that was awaiting them – a horrible economy and society ruled by white supremacy. This was also the first time I ever thought of myself as a first generation Filipino, a classification that half-White Filipinos are excluded from. I began to analyze my unique situation, always referring to myself as Filipino American in the States, but only being recognized as American here. I met a professor from UP who was in the congregation on Sunday. It was the first time that someone was introduced to me (in English) and then walked away when they discovered that I didn’t speak the native language. Also during the Sunday school, I joined the group of high school and college students. A few of them asked everyone to speak English because I didn’t understand Tagalog. It was one of the most uncomfortable experiences so far, but I can only imagine it was worse for them. The lesson took longer than planned because each student was determined to speak English, or rather determined to not speak Tagalog.

I think the meeting with the CFO was very inspiring and put a whole new dimension on how FASA can help Filipinos abroad and those incoming to Seattle. From learning Tagalog to raising money to send students to college in the PI, I look forward to sharing my experiences here for the purpose of helping the people and organizations that I’ve met here.