Do Filipinos love their country?

[GaryFifer]

Your thoughts on this article. I recall Florge had made a great point on corruption and a kind of apathy about it, that whatever Filipinos do it always stays the same. If you do not like things as they are revolution! On a similar note, are Filipinos proud of their OWN country? This article touches on tricky questions.

Flag day seeks to promote love of country. These days, everywhere, we see big flags emblazoned with the words, “Pilipinas Kong Mahal.”

But do we really love our country? Maybe so, but we certainly have a funny way of showing it. We pollute the air we breathe, ravage our forests, defile our lakes and rivers, ruin our corals and poison our fish and aquatic life. We litter our streets and dump garbage on our waterways. We treat our natural resources as if they do not belong to us.

Many behave as if they have no pride in being Filipinos. Four out of 10 Filipinos want to leave the country and reside elsewhere. Many are even ashamed of being identified as Filipinos when they go abroad.

More continued here:Source 06/05/2009 Inquirer.Net Letters to the Editor

[James Hubbard]

I agree with what Mr Santos has said.

When I hear people talk about Pinoy Pride or Pilipinas Kong Mahal, i think, ok, great, can you please tell me why? Or is it just trendy to say that right now?

[Sophie]

But do we really love our country? Maybe so, but we certainly have a funny way of showing it. We pollute the air we breathe, ravage our forests, defile our lakes and rivers, ruin our corals and poison our fish and aquatic life. We litter our streets and dump garbage on our waterways. We treat our natural resources as if they do not belong to us.

Good point gary

Floods are worst in the philippines because the government do not impose proper garbage disposal system,
on the otherhand, most filipinos do not have the discipline as well, as far as proper garbage disposal is concerned,
they litter wherever and whenever they feel like and just throw their garbage practically anywhere....
Sadly, most filipinos have no environmental awareness and consciousness and majority certainly lack environmental concern....

Landslide cases got worst because of rampant illegal logging,
corals and aquatic lives were ruined and are getting extinct because if illegal fishing...
They live for the moment, they live to survive and not consider the long term effects and destruction of what they're doing now.....
what matters to them is to get food on their family's plates at the end of the day and have some money to survive each day...

If we want a better philippines, we should each give our fair share and do our part and do it responsibly
and hopefully the government would do thesame as well......

[Queenbee]

good point gary

Floods are worst in the philippines because the government do not impose proper garbage disposal system,
on the otherhand, most filipinos do not have the discipline as well, as far as proper garbage disposal is concerned,
they litter wherever and whenever they feel like and just throw their garbage practically anywhere....
Sadly, most filipinos have no environmental awareness and consciousness and majority certainly lack environmental concern....

Landslide cases got worst because of rampant illegal logging,
corals and aquatic lives were ruined and are getting extinct because if illegal fishing...
They live for the moment, they live to survive and not consider the long term effects and destruction of what they're doing now.....
What matters to them is to get food on their family's plates at the end of the day and have some money to survive each day...

If we want a better philippines, we should each give our fair share and do our part and do it responsibly
and hopefully the government would do thesame as wel

l......

you totally read ma mind sophie dear!

[RickyR]

I have worked with thousands of Filipino working abroad, and they always always always without fail seem to love the country! Maybe absence makes the heart grow fonder.

[Ayjay]

I have worked with thousands of Filipino working abroad, and they always always always without fail seem to love the country! Maybe absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Agreed, my experience too, worked with many Filipinos in the UAE over a period of 13 years.. Great majority were good eggs.

AJ

[GaryFifer]

Working abroad loving your country? If you love it you go back regular right?

[James Hubbard]

lol

The thing missing in the Philippines is education. Even in graduates, and even in professors there. In my experience, until school becomes compulsory - and free - and at a high standard, for every Filipino, right from Elementary through High School and College, there will never be any advancement.

Edumacation, Edumacation, Edumacation!

[GaryFifer]

lol

The thing missing in the Philippines is education. Even in graduates, and even in professors there. In my experience, until school becomes compulsory - and free - and at a high standard, for every Filipino, right from Elementary through High School and College, there will never be any advancement.

Edumacation, Edumacation, Edumacation!

I noticed that job advertisements ask for a minimum College/University Education for call centre jobs. That shows anyone else, is either fallen through the net, or looked down upon for other things....

[IainBusby]

lol

The thing missing in the Philippines is education. Even in graduates, and even in professors there. In my experience, until school becomes compulsory - and free - and at a high standard, for every Filipino, right from Elementary through High School and College, there will never be any advancement.

Edumacation, Edumacation, Edumacation!

I work in a mainstream university and I've noticed that compared to the other south east Asian countrys there are very few Filipino students and when it comes to continued higher education, post grad, post-docs etc, there are none at all. I just find it strange that we have so many Chinese, Koreans, Thais and Vietnamese etc, but no Filipinos.

Could it be that the Filipinos that do come here as students just can't afford to go to the mainstream universitys and the Filipinos who have already managed to get a degree cannot continue in higher education because they are then expected to find a job and support their families?

I could be wrong, maybe those who can afford a good education in a western university, because of the Philippines admiration of everything American, choose to go to universities in the USA.

Iain.

[James Hubbard]

Or, it shows the relative worthlessness of degrees there :( sorry to say that

[James Hubbard]

In the city I live in (a small one in negros) we say . . .

the ones who could get out of here . . . did.

The ones who stay are either

A)Leftovers, who scrape the barrell
B)Rich, and they rule (A)

[somebody]

Education is a good thing and I think the Internet is changing things as so many good phill friends and family are so lacking in knowledge of the rest of the world and what goes on. They are good intelligent people who i respect but unless you know there are alternatives to what occurs in Phill at present you will never be inspired to change.
Some of my Wifes friends who i met before and after they had been infulenced by living abroad the change is huge.

No way are the Educational establishments going to promote this, due to who pays the wages and control/regulates them.

But saying this phill newspapers and TV channels are always going on about how Phills need to stand up and change things from the limited amount i read and see. Most of the newspapers were just a lecture no wonder people switch off.

But saying that if Parliment in the UK was in french Ie a language many are taught at school and have the basic gist of in the UK. No wonder many dont care, often i was the only one in the house when in philll who would watch the poltical debates or current affair debates as they were in English Everyone else would switch off and go off and find the others eating foods etc

Its like they want to keep the people in the street switched off.

I can remeber the police chief of manila or something saying they only have one or two reported crime a day in certain areas and then coming out with complicated ways people could report crime for each area depending on where you are in at the time. basically it made no sense and no one i asked understood what he was on about when i went of and asked them.

[KeithD]

It'd be nice if they knocked everything down, shot the govenment, and rebuilt from scratch.......ooops.....wrong thread....I'm talking about the UK

[somebody]

it'd be nice if they knocked everything down, shot the govenment, and rebuilt from scratch.......ooops.....wrong thread....i'm talking about the uk

[Sophie]

It'd be nice if they knocked everything down, shot the govenment, and rebuilt from scratch.......ooops.....wrong thread....I'm talking about the UK

I think the philippines need this more than the uk, lol

[somebody]

I think the philippines need this more than the uk, lol

Maybe we could get them to knock both down at the same time for reducded rate

[James Hubbard]

I think there's a conspiracy in the Philippines to keep the man on the street stoopid. If he's stoopid, he won't complain about anything, much less the corruption

[somebody]

I think there's a conspiracy in the Philippines to keep the man on the street stoopid. If he's stoopid, he won't complain about anything, much less the corruption

As is happening in the UK it seems when I visit schools. If it was not the hard work of so many indivudals, both teacherss and other staff in educational establishments, huge chunks of the Pupils would be written off by the system it seems.

If reading a news article/book or holding your own in a debate becomes hard work then less for those who lord it over you have to worry about you getting fancy ideas

[James Hubbard]

As is happening in the UK it seems when I visit schools. If it was not the hard work of so many indivudals, both teacherss and other staff in educational establishments, huge chunks of the Pupils would be written off by the system it seems.

If reading a news article/book or holding your own in a debate becomes hard work then less for those who lord it over you have to worry about you getting fancy ideas

ya man you're right. I agree.

Though, I guess there's a lot to be said if you compare the level of enquiry in Oxford, Cambridge, Durham etc with Uni of the Philippines, Santo Tomas, Silliman etc.

The minds are not in the same league, it's cultivated to be that way.

I have no competing interests, I was educated in a New University (former poly)

[pennybarry]

I love our country, and the people but will be hard for me to love politicians who are corrupt.

When I had my holiday in Pinas last month, there were badjao children in the street that rides in jeepney and sings, playing their home made drums. I feel sad because it is (DSWD) Dept of Social and Welfare and Devt, responsibilty how to help streetchildren like them.
You will not like their (badjaos children) attitude if you don't give coins in their envelope before they sing and play. They will grab back their small envelope with twisted angry face.
I put 20 bill and the little girl, grabbed it with her angry face but when she found out I gave 20 pesos, she was very happy saying thank you very much. Honestly, I don't give money to children and I choose to give to elderly veggars because they are more helpless. But my heart was breaking so I tolerate myself to give. But then I'm also thinking it is the responsiblity of their parents to send them to school instead of letting them to become streetchildren. They make babies and they cannot feed them and let the government solve this problem. And the problem is we have no budget allocation for poverty because gov't took our taxes paid directly to their pockets.

People sometimes feel disgusted if they see dirty veggars/children on street, Some filipinos doesn't like to go back to our country and even visit our country because they feel the poverty they had before and they feel strange in their own country anymore.

I wish sooner or later we can have the best president and have helping hand cabinet members.
I know we can! Help yourself, Help the needy, Help the poor, Wake up! Corrupt politicians as I cannot help them alone!

I will always love my country, family and friends!

I am proud to be a filipino!
I'm always homesick to my homeland!
Long Live Filipinos!

[eleazebonares]

blame it all to the gov't! they should be electricuting people who doesnt abide the law/the country should be perfect. if the gov't provided enough awareness and strict punishment/population explosion and hazardous env't could have been seized.

[Tawi2]

blame it all to the gov't! they should be electricuting people who doesnt abide the law/the country should be perfect. if the gov't provided enough awareness and strict punishment/population explosion and hazardous env't could have been seized.

Dont want to do thatevery time you juice up old sparky for a criminals punishment Manila will have yet another brownout because the grid cant handle it

[ron]

I remember my first visit to the Philippines and i asked were are all the trees. It seems every time something is planted its destroyed by the locals for survival means. Very sad

Ron

[Florge]

well, I guess it all boils down to making a difference in the littlest way possible..

If you are in a cab, and the cab driver starts ranting about politics based on bad info he hears on the radio (because radio announcer speaks highly of a certain politician since he received a hefty monthly "allowance" from this politician) jump in and give your 2 cents worth... you may not change this cab drivers mind, but at least you made him see the other side of the coin, so to speak...

get involved in your own community... like what Sophie said... your fair share.. we can't change the entire philippines but we can still at least make a difference in our own sphere of influence...

we buy products that use recycle materials.. we support companies that are very keen in giving back to society... we practice what we teach... walk the talk....

there is no such thing as a perfect government.. for what is the meaning of life and all this rants if we live in a perfect world? but we strive for perfection... always... let's stop blaming our government.. we put these freaking politicians there in the first place.. so let's blame us... if you aren't a voter, then you have no right to complain... it is your inherent right of suffrage and you missed your chance to vote for whoever you think can change our country... do we buy our own products? you'll be surprised how much better our products are compared to others... read about it... do we go around the philippines to help promote our tourism?

why are these badjaos on the streets? because when they beg, we give them money.. easy money.. so what do they do? gather on the streets and beg because people kept giving them money.. what if we stop giving them money and instead give to the NGOs who take care of them?

as for education.. and going for higher education.. well, there are still a lot of filipinos who are in post grad schools... mostly because their companies sent them.. well, most of my classmates were... but those that can really afford, go to unis in other countries, as what Iain said.. if they are lucky, they get scholarships...

i guess it all boils down to asking ourselves: what little ways can I do for others today?

[somebody]

well, I guess it all boils down to making a difference in the littlest way possible..

If you are in a cab, and the cab driver starts ranting about politics based on bad info he hears on the radio (because radio announcer speaks highly of a certain politician since he received a hefty monthly "allowance" from this politician) jump in and give your 2 cents worth... you may not change this cab drivers mind, but at least you made him see the other side of the coin, so to speak...

get involved in your own community... like what Sophie said... your fair share.. we can't change the entire philippines but we can still at least make a difference in our own sphere of influence...

we buy products that use recycle materials.. we support companies that are very keen in giving back to society... we practice what we teach... walk the talk....

there is no such thing as a perfect government.. for what is the meaning of life and all this rants if we live in a perfect world? but we strive for perfection... always... let's stop blaming our government.. we put these freaking politicians there in the first place.. so let's blame us... if you aren't a voter, then you have no right to complain... it is your inherent right of suffrage and you missed your chance to vote for whoever you think can change our country... do we buy our own products? you'll be surprised how much better our products are compared to others... read about it... do we go around the philippines to help promote our tourism?

why are these badjaos on the streets? because when they beg, we give them money.. easy money.. so what do they do? gather on the streets and beg because people kept giving them money.. what if we stop giving them money and instead give to the NGOs who take care of them?

as for education.. and going for higher education.. well, there are still a lot of filipinos who are in post grad schools... mostly because their companies sent them.. well, most of my classmates were... but those that can really afford, go to unis in other countries, as what Iain said.. if they are lucky, they get scholarships...

i guess it all boils down to asking ourselves: what little ways can I do for others today?

Spot on and its the women who can make the change. Look at the Mothers of liberia, rwanda and of course the Mothers in Ireland who said enough is enough to the troubles in Northern Ireland.
Different situations but it needs in my view the one group who have huge infulence Mothers to say we want change and infulence those around them..

My Wife after seeing how corrupt it was in phill where her dad would use the votes of the family for reward from the sneator and what not.
Does not see the point of voting in the UK, but that angers me as people and women in particular have had to battle for the right and before you know it slowly it could be lost if people just dont care

Use your Vote and express your views and listen to others then debate

[anngrimes78@msn]

Like any other 3rd world country, it all boils down to MONEY! We need it to survive.
Unless your one of the elite circle of rich Filipinoes back home, its a struggle to have a decent life there.
Majority of us filipinos who live abroad work hard to earn decent amount of money to support our families back home despite the pain of being away.
If im rich, I wouldnt choose to live anywhere, other than our Philippines.
We love our country but we need to survive.
Lets face it, you cant earn what you earn working abroad in the Philippines.

[Tish]

I'm trying so hard not to voice my opinion here

Tish

[Florge]

Like any other 3rd world country, it all boils down to MONEY! We need it to survive.
Unless your one of the elite circle of rich Filipinoes back home, its a struggle to have a decent life there.
Majority of us filipinos who live abroad work hard to earn decent amount of money to support our families back home despite the pain of being away.
If im rich, I wouldnt choose to live anywhere, other than our Philippines.
We love our country but we need to survive.
Lets face it, you cant earn what you earn working abroad in the Philippines.

well, there are a lot of Filipinos who are not rich but live a decent life...

I think, IMHO, it all boils down to what you value in life... if you think your earnings here are not enough to give all the comforts in the world and you work abroad to give your family that, then it is money that is important and earning loads of it...

I remember a story (not sure if it's of Mexican origin) and it goes like this:

One day a fisherman was lying on a beautiful beach with his fishing pole propped up in the sand and his solitary line cast out into the sparkling blue surf.

He was enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun and the prospect of catching a fish.

About that time, a businessman came walking down the beach trying to relieve some of the stress of his workday. He noticed the fisherman sitting on the beach and decided to find out why this fisherman was fishing instead of working harder to make a living for himself and his family.

"You aren't going to catch many fish that way," said the businessman to the fisherman, "you should be working rather than lying on the beach!"

The fisherman looked up at the businessman, smiled and replied, "And what will my reward be?"

"Well, you can get bigger nets and catch more fish!" was the businessman's answer.

"And then what will my reward be?" asked the fisherman, still smiling.

The businessman replied, "You will make money and you'll be able to buy a boat which will then result in larger catches of fish!"

"And then what will my reward be?" asked the fisherman again.

The businessman was beginning to get a little irritated with the fisherman's questions.

"You can buy a bigger boat and hire some people to work for you!" he said.

"And then what will my reward be?" repeated the fisherman.

The businessman was getting angry. "Don't you understand? You can build up a fleet of fishing boats, sail all over the world, and let all your employees catch fish for you!"

Once again the fisherman asked, "And then what will my reward be?"

The businessman was red with rage and shouted at the fisherman, "Don't you understand that you can become so rich that you will never have to work for your living again! You can spend all the rest of your days sitting on this beach looking at the sunset. You won't have a care in the world!"

The fisherman, still smiling, simply looked up, nodded and said: "And what do you think I am doing now?" He then looked at the sunset, with his pole in the water, without a care in the world.

However, both the fisherman and the businessman were wrong in their materialistic outlook. We don't have to work hard so that we become rich, sit in the beach and have no care in the world. The univers teaches us to work hard to serve our family and our community and earn the pleasures of life, regardless of whether we are poor or rich. That is what my mother fondly calls "the joy of contentment".

[fred]

Not sure about Filipino`s but I am certain that pride in my own country has sadly diminished.
I do not envy any of you still stuck there.