For centuries Filipinos are standing at the crossroads. We’ve been continuously searching for a true Filipino identity. Or we might ask if there’s such identity in the first place. Our race has been a mixture of Malayan/Spanish/American/Japanese/Chinese blood. They say that the only pure Filipinos today are the Negritos and Tasadays and some ethnic minorities. Because of foreign influences, many Filipinos choose to become westernized in many ways. Among us are people who speak the foreign language and avoid using the mother tongue as much as possible. Some would feel ackward speaking or hearing someone using his vernacular language or dialect. He has a hard accent, one would say. Many Filipinos abroad are even displaying an un-Filipino manner though you would obviously notice that they are from the Pearl of the Orient Ocean. This is a grim reality each Filipino has to face.

When I was in college, I enrolled in two subjects dealing with Philippine languages for two semesters. These subjects were in no way connected to my degree but the university where I came from gave each student the freedom to choose some subjects that the student may deem helpful to him. From then on, I started to appreciate the beauty of our own literature – written in Cebuano, Ilocano, Waray, Tagalog, and other Philippine vernacular languages. My professor, who was then the highest-paid faculty member of the college, showed us his dedication for the preservation of these languages. It is a grave mistake to call them dialects. For this reason, I was able to write poems written in Waray (we call it siday) and some of these were published in our school paper.

With the increasing globalization taking place, the country needs to adapt to changes. Madame Arroyo would never use Tagalog when she speaks to Obama, otherwise, Obama would not understand her. But have you notice during summits or conferences of different ministers or presidents? Many wouldn’t really care using English. Have you seen the King of Saudi Arabia speaking in English during those meetings? The prime minister of Japan? The president of China? The chancellor of Germany? The president of South Korea? And others? No, they would always use their mother tongue as the primary medium of communication. They have interpreters! But look at those countries, they are among the richest nations in the world. Even during international beauty pageants, contestants from other nations would usually use their native language. They have all the resources to learn English but they choose to speak in their respective language. In countries where nationalism is strong like that of Japan, English is not the primary medium of instruction in schools. Japan imposed Nihongo or Niponggo in almost all subjects even mathematics. Now you begin to wonder what would be the Tagalog equivalent for square root, multiply, quotient, etc. Apparently, these people know the importance of language for national survival. This is their way of communicating to their people that they are united. Language binds societies.

There have been several attempts from various groups to educate the Filipinos about the importance of using our national language in different aspects. The University of the Philippines (Unibersidad ng Pilipinas in Filipino), the country’s national university, has been at the forefront on these initiatives. The Surian ng Wikang Pambansa (now called Sentro ng Wikang Filipino), established during the time of President Manuel Quezon, is located inside U.P. Diliman campus and is very active in promoting national consciousness of the importance of Filipino language. A professor from the College of Arts and Letters have actually published a dictionary with original Tagalog words. Even the name of different colleges and departments have been “Tagalized.” The College of Social Sciences and Philosophy became Kolehiyo ng Agham Panlipunan at Pilosopiya; College of Arts and Letters became Kolehiyo ng Arte at Literatura; College of Architecture became Kolehiyo ng Arkitektura; and others. The birds of the air told me that there is an effort to change the name Philippines to Malaya or Maharlika. Well, Mapua Institute of Technology in Intramuros has been renamed as Malayan University already, perhaps under the influence of its top administrator who is a UP graduate. This is according to my former colleague who worked there as a professor for several years. I may have to do some research regarding its veracity.

The Philippines may be internationally competitive with the use of English language but we lag far behind our Asian counterparts. There is nothing wrong in using English in its proper place and time but it is a ’sin’ to deny any thing that has connections to our identity as a distinct nation.

How would you define your bicultural student’s race and ethnicity?

Her race or ethnicity will never be changed. She is Filipino. When we say that she is now an American-Filipino, that does not mean she has a mixed race. In terms of ethnic background, she will always be a Filipino. 

Describe your bicultural student’s interactions with you and with their peers? Do you see any difficulties? When there are difficulties how do you address them with your bicultural student?

She is such a quiet girl, which is typical among all transferees whether they came from another or a different city or state. But in my observation, she is really a quiet girl, not because of intimidation, culture, or being new. I think she is innately quiet, and that’s where difficulties come in. It is slightly not easy to ask determine the thoughts and feelings of a new student who talks only when obliged.  

How would you describe your bicultural student’s growth and learning in your class/program?

 In terms of learning, she is really a smart girl and that is evident in her scores. She has been academically impressive since day one. She answers questions concisely, which indicates her personality. She’s not very showy but she is improving very well as her quiet behavior can be mistaken as an indication of having learned nothing at all.

What difficulties do you see in your bicultural student’s growth and learning in your class/program? What do you attribute these difficulties to? How do you address them?

The only difficulty is her reluctance to speak. She only speaks when she is asks, meaning the talkative and active classmates tend to outsmart her when it comes to class discussion. As any other teacher will possibly do, I try to avoid voluntary recitation. Instead, I ask one by one to speak to allow everyone else to have a fair share during talk time. 

What are your bicultural student’s strengths? What ways do you incorporate these strengths into his/her learning environment?

Again, I say that this girl is an intellectual student. I motivate her, as well as her classmates, not only to think and think deeply but to bring out these golden ideas by opening their mouths. That said, a considerable amount of speaking time is included in our curriculum.  

What strategies do you use to support your bicultural student’s culture in the classroom?

 Having a bicultural student in the class is very interesting not only to the teacher but the classmates as well. What I do is I let all the students compare the diverse cultures in the world and attempt to show them that these cultural differences are a thing of beauty, not of conflict.

Since the student seems to be innately quiet, is she given more opportunities to speak in class as compared to her peers who are native Americans?

No, no, no. Not really. If I do that, there will be an imbalance. What about the other students? As I said, I give everyone else a fair share during talk time. Whether they are bicultural or native, they get to have enough time to speak in class as everyone else. 

How would you define your race and ethnicity?

Race or ethnicity, for me, is (the identity) representing where you come from and that defines how you belong to the global society. It is a part of your personality that can be altered but can never be changed.

 How do you define your bicultural child’s race and ethnicity?

She is an American-Filipino. She is Filipino by ethnic background, and an American by legal citizenship. 

Do you feel that you have encountered any difficulties and/or discrimination or prejudicial attitudes due to your race/ethnicity?

No discrimination so far. But in terms of difficulties, there are a lot. Although we have (an) idea about the US from watching (TV), living here is totally a different thing. There are many things that I have to cope with in terms of language and culture. 

Do you feel that your bicultural child has or will encounter any difficulties and/or discrimination or prejudicial attitudes due to their race/ethnicity?

I, as an adult who have overcome several problems in life, encounter difficulties here.  For sure, she will encounter difficulties, too. But since she is still a teenager, her adjustment will become easier because her… habits and beliefs are not as deep-rooted as the culture of older adults like me. 

How are you preparing your bicultural child to cope with these possible struggles?

Though we migrated here in the US, my daily advice to her didn’t change at all. Before she goes to school, we tell her to study well, be kind to her classmates, and obey her teachers. And when she gets home, we ask her the same question everyday, “How was school?” Here in the US, nothing has changed. What I mean is that we just allow her to naturally cope with the new life in the US. We don’t have to give her a list of what she should do because that will just pressure her with the adjustment.

Is it important for you to know your culture?

Of course, I believe it is important for every person to know their own culture as that helps the person… know his space in the global society. 

Is it important for your bicultural child to know their culture?

It is even more important for her to know the Filipino culture. Physically, she is obviously a Filipino. So, when people get to ask her about he ethnic background, she must be obviously a Filipino as well by the way she explains her native culture. She must be familiar with the Filipino culture the way she is with the American culture.   

How and what are you teaching your bicultural child about their culture?

I’m not really the kind of parent that gives a lecture to my children. But this is not a Filipino culture; you might think it is typical in my country. It’s just me. I just want my daughter to be train in how think on her own. I mean, I want her to learn the culture just by observing, without me having to explain everything. I just answer her questions but she seldom has. I guess she is really training well how to think independently.

You mentioned that physically, she is obviously a Filipino. Would you approve of her decision in case she alters her physical appearance to conform to the American look, like dying her hair blonde, for example?

I know my daughter, I think she will not do that.  I personally don’t like the idea but that’s my daughter. Who knows, she wants to become blonde someday. It’s her choice.   

The traditional dalagang Pilipina (Filipina maiden) is shy and secretive about her real feelings for a suitor and denies it even though she is really in love with the man.

Tuksuhan lang (just teasing) is the usual term associated with pairing off potential couples in Filipino culture.  This is common among teenagers and young adults.  It is a way of matching people who may have mutual admiration or affection for each other.  It may end up in a romance or avoidance of each other if the situation becomes embarrassing for both individuals.

Tuksuhan (teasing–and a girl’s reaction to it) is a means for ‘feeling out’ a woman’s attitude about an admirer or suitor.  If the denial is vehement and the girl starts avoiding the boy, then he gets the message that his desire to pursue her is hopeless.  The advantage of this is that he does not get embarrassed because he has not started courting the girl in earnest.  As in most Asian cultures, Filipinos avoid losing face. Basted (from English busted) is the Tagalog slang for someone who fails to reach ‘first base’ in courting a girl because she does not have any feelings for him to begin with. 

However, if the girl ‘encourages’ her suitor (either by being nice to him or not getting angry with the ‘teasers’), then the man can court in earnest and the tuksuhan eventually ends.  The courtship then has entered a ’serious’ stage, and the romance begins.

A man who is unable to express his affection to a woman (who may have the same feelings for him) is called a torpe (stupid), dungo (extremely shy), or simply duwag (coward).  To call a man torpe means he does not know how to court a girl, is playing innocent, or does not know she also has an affection for him. 

If a man is torpe, he needs a tulay (bridge)–anyone who is a mutual friend of him and the girl he loves–who then conveys to the girl his affection for her.   It is also a way of ‘testing the waters’ so to speak.  If the boy realizes that the girl does not have feelings for him, he will then not push through with the courtship, thus saving face. 

Some guys are afraid of their love being turned down by the girl.  In Tagalog, a guy whose love  has been turned down by the girl is called sawi (romantically sad), basted (busted), or simply labless (loveless).   

He says ballpen instead of pen. Most Filipinos, including me, says ballpen insted of pen. One reason of this characteristic of Filipinos is because most pens in the Philippines are “ball-point pens”. Ball-point pens are pens with a small ball in its tip to let the ink pass as it rolls in the paper. Because of the feature of the ball-point pen Filipinos called it ballpens.

He creates sound effects when telling a story. This trait makes a Filipino totally different from other races. I don’t know why but Filipinos always imitate the sounds when they tell a story. I will give you an example, let’s say a boy is tellin gyou a story about a war and this is the way he narrates the story- “The soldier fired his cannon and BOOM!! The opponent fired them with bullets. BANG!! BANG!! Some find it funny while other annoying. No matter what other people feel, it just means that Filipinos are expressive when they tell a story.

Even up to now he still believes in superstition. Yes, you read it right, some of us still believes in different superstitious beliefs. I think it is part of our tradition that we respect the beliefs of elders and some even apply it to their own lives and abide by it. Without scientific basis, they still do whatever a superstition tells them to. Some of Filipino superstitious beliefsare the following: When you say something bad you must knock three times so it will not happen. When a black cat passes you, you are bound to misfortune and others.

He says “po” and “opo” to elders. This trait of the Filipinos I am most proud about. Saying “po” and “opo” is a way of showing respect to elders. It means that you honor the authority of someone older than you.

He loves to hear and spread gossips. This one is a bit negative. Many Filipinos love hearing gossips and after they hear it, they pass it on to others. This is the reason why many Filipino celebrities are being involved in rumors, gossips, scandals, etc.

He loves “adobo”. Chicken, pork, or both, Filipinos (and other people) love it. I don’t know why but most Filipinos crave for it. “Adobo”, in case you don’t know it, is a chicken or pork dish seasoned with soy sauce, vinegar, pepper, laurel leaf and sometimes with potato chunks. It is simple yet very delicious. If you haven’t tried one you better find a Filipino to cook it for you or find a restaurant with that dish.

That’s it for now. There are a lot more to be mentioned. Just wait up until I submit the third part (hopefully). Now, if you will excuse me because my “adobo” is waiting.

When the Filipinos are eating when you arrive in their home for a visit, they will invite you to join them on the table. They will set a plate for you and give space for you on their table. Some of them don’t let you go unless you will be able to eat. That’s how hospitable they are. In American homes, very seldom you will be called to join with them on the table when it’s time for eating. They will just eat even if you are there, they will not ask you to join. That’s their culture and if you are really hungry, you can ask for food then they will give you but they will not as insistent as Filipinos to let you eat with them.

As what I understand, Americans are very private people most of them don’t even know their neighbors. They just say hi and hello and that’s all. Filipinos are very different because they know all their neighbors they even talk to them every now and then, giving and sharing things, food, helping when someone needs help but in America? they always mind their own business. There are times that somebody died and the neighbor don’t even know it until the body decomposed and smells bad that’s the time they call the police to inspect the neighbor’s house where the smell comes from. Can you imagine that? I can’t live with that kind of neighborhood but you have no choice when you are already there. Maybe the best thing to do is to reach out and strive to make friends with the people around. The question is, are some of those neighbors willing to make friends with you? Well, you will never know unless you try. That’s life in America. They said that Filipinos and noisy people, oh yeah, because they are alive and friendly.

The truth is, how we see one another is usually dependent on how we understand oneanother. For us, one may look decent all because of the way the person dresses. Others may seem like famous actors given their fair complexion and angelic smile. Then there are those who, because of uncouth looks in their manner of dressing, complexion and hair style, they become to the eyes of others a snatcher, a robber, a person to be disdained. Our youth have it worse.

With all the recent trends we can never surely know who they wanted to be: a rock star, a hip-hop gangster, an emo goth, an anime character, or just some other local counterpart of some foreign celebrity. This is why today we must tackle a very important question: Who are we and what is our role as Filipinos?

Investigating the Concept Called Juan dela Cruz

We often hear through the media the name Juan de la Cruz. What many of us know is that Juan de la Cruz is said to embody all Filipinos. He is, as we understand, the ordinary Filipino who, like us, faces everyday trials and sacrifices. As shown here, Juan de la Cruz is the Filipino who wears the national attire with both pride and despair. Proud of who he is, but despairs over the plight of our people that are economically and politically suffering.  And so whenever anything is happening to the Filipino, it is his name that we usually hear or it is his image that we see caricatured as suffering in the editorial cartoons of newspapers.

In other words, we recognize ourselves through him. He becomes our image as we struggle to survive and move on. But truly, how can we really tell the Juan dela Cruz that represents us all?

As I have said, how we understand others is usually the basis of how we see other people. This is entirely the same with our view on Juan dela Cruz.

For the poor and ordinary workers, he is the impoverished, the emburdened, the one made to suffer. He is the one who faces the unforgiving streets, the dry and barren soil, and the stench of garbage dumps, just so to eek even a small mouthful. They are the small-time vendors, the farmers and those who rake on garbage for food and money. They view the middle class as nothing but selfish and uncaring for they usually ignore the poor. For the poor, the elitists are those who are responsible for their continued suffering. They are the heartless businessmen, the unscrupulous corrupt politician, the hacienderos who took their land. The last being perhaps the reason why many of these poor folk still participate in rallies, hoping that the next leader they choose will be the one to alleviate them from poverty.

For the middle class, Juan dela Cruz is the true suffering worker, whether in office or as a contract worker overseas. Many of them are of course educated and have proper jobs such as teachers, bank employees, sales ladies, or call center agents. Juan dela Cruz, for them, is the one who works hard while badgered on the street by beggars, con artists, snatchers and robbers. He is the same person who is constantly forced to endure any harassments coming from his abusive, rich bosses just so he has something to feed his family. In his view, he is the one caught in between the unending war of the rich and the poor.

But for the rich, Juan dela Cruz becomes a different person. He is the only person who works hard for his country’s welfare. He is the politician who bears so many promising dreams yet mired by the masses. He is the businessman who must get along with foreign investors in order to make jobs for others. For the elitist, the middle class never worked as hard as him which is why there is a need for the elitist to push the middle class to their limits. More so with the good-for-nothing poor who, in their laziness, only complain and blame others for their lot.

It is no wonder then why our different views of each other have always affected our interpersonal relationship that, to a point, made us look out only for ourselves. What remains to be seen is a Juan de la Cruz that answers to all three economic classes and not as an excuse to alienate one from the other.

This is how the Filipino is, a person of different faces, ways and manners; most especially manners. What is of course amusing is that we are also identified as Filipinos all because of some of our queer manners.

Some Filipino Idiosyncracies

As we look around us, we can already notice certain contradictions in our behavior and manner.

In religion, our sheer belief in God has led most of us to depend on Him for the solution of our problems even though we can solve these ourselves. Our love for our family has also limited our social ties, wherein many of us have their lives revolve only around our core family members. It is also with this love for our family that we are able to measure our humaneness yet at the same time this same love also limits our consideration for others.

Many have also found that we Filipinos are a happy lot, which is why most of us are seen to take serious matters lightly. At work, our flexibility proves that many of us are unable to master a single task even though we can do different types of jobs.

One is left to wonder, how come we are so full of contradictions? What is it about our identity that we fail to determine what to make of ourselves? Why are there so many faces of the Filipino?

Three Factors that Affect our Being

According to F. Jocano of UP Research, there are three factors that affect our being. They are:  Personalism, Familsim, and Particularism         

Personalism serves as a guide for our helpfulness for others. For many of us, a work is never done unless we ourselves are the ones who do it. It from this factor that we value our social relationship, believing it is the only way we can ever connect with others. If without this, we lose our social ties. This may perhaps be the reason why some of us, just so to retain his social status, resort to showing off. However, we can never fully blame him since we use most often measure a man by the way what he appears to be doing, whether on television or in the newspapers, and not on his unpublicized achievements.

Many of us believe in the value of our family. For most of us, the family is the one that guides our every decision. In fact, it is because of the family that we strive each day to earn a living. This is what you call Familism, the family comes first before society. What is good about this is that we are immediately shaped as human beings according to our status as members of the family. Because of our family responsibility, we in turn realize our position in society.      This is because our self awareness is identified with our family, wherein in our part, we are made aware of our social responsibilities and to be involved in the family’s everyday business. And because we want to give a better life to our family, we try to find ways. For our family to be safe from crime, we make do our part to increase the security of our community. To make sure our children are in good company, we make an effort to know their friends and parents of their friends.

What is saddening, however, is when our responsibility towards our family becomes so great that we forget our stand in society. We become selfish. As employers, we put favor to our relative than those who truly are qualified for the job. As teachers, we put a blind eye on the things our nephews or nieces do and, quite frequently, “request” our fellow teachers to pass them.

And because of our doings connected to the family and society, there are other things that we do that mar this aspect of our being.

It is through these examples that you gave we now identify the third factor, which is Particularism.  Particularism determines our self-priority. We put more effort on what we decide as more valuable, in all cases our own interest. This is perhaps the most influential factor of our being that also affects all sectors in society, from the lowest position up to the highest authority. In this light, we come to question or integrity. At what price do we pay for our decisions? We must remember then that whatever we do in society will reflect eventually on our family because whatever happens in society, the family is always affected.

All in all, these three factors are not entirely negative as one may think of it. In fact, it can better help us if we concentrate only on its positive principles.

In other words, many also believe that the contradictions in our behavior have a much deeper root than just the three factors. This may also be the reason for our different views about each other. For more than three hundred years, we, as a nation have experienced colonization, most especially from two major countries: Spain and America.

How A People Become Separated

In fact, the effect of colonialism on the Filipinos has left an indelible mark upon our culture that even our most proud national attire and dances are nothing but shadows of what we inherited from our Spanish colonizers. In turn, colonialism has created a mindset of uncertainty regarding who we are and what we are as a society.

There is a reason why we have extreme comparisons of ourselves, based on the three socio-economic classes. With the enormous influence of the West over our behavior, commerce and in our political decisions, many of our politicians, writers and artists strive to determine our national identity as means of national independence. But happened was it resulted on the division of the poor and the rich.

According to the national artist Nick Joaquin, the Filipino is suffering a cultural gap between the Spanish-influenced older generation and the Americanized youth. Forgetting the Spanish past entails the further loss of cultural identity, for it is from them that we can trace remnants of our true Filipino heritage. To solve this, one must therefore accept colonial history as part of our culture as it is the fragment of the true Filipino.

On the other hand, both Amado Hernandez and F. Sionil Jose believe that the true Filipino reside with the peasants, the masses and the tribal Filipinos who were least influenced by the colonial culture. To protect them means to abandon the colonial past. Both writers are very vocal of this belief that they have even attested that the colonials never left for they now reside within the souls of the illustrados, the rich elites who are now the new colonials that continue to  oppress the ordinary Filipino.

Their romanticizing of the masses as pure, honorable, yet constantly oppressed by the corrupt elites soon gained popularity and has since been used as conventions by news writers, film and television directors, and by many others in depicting the state of our society. And up until today, it has become our own concept of society.

The Effect of Modernization and Globalism

Today there are so many influences upon our culture coming from other countries, either it be on the way we dress, our language, and even in the way we think; things we learn not only in school but as well as in media and the environment. And because of the economic, transportation and technological progress we are experiencing under modernization, we are given a myriad of different identities to choose from. These same advancements in modernity, however, have also helped in encroaching capitalist relations into the routines of everyday living. Identity, as we know it, has become a franchise of commodified products that contribute in the defining of different identities. And this is well reflected upon the youth wherein they try to identify themselves on the latest trends: the latest music fashion, anime, television series, the latest movies, commercials, and others. In all, this can lead to further varying forms of alienation, sub-cultures, gangs, individual ideas and contrasting views about self and society.

With so many accelerated advancements in technology and communication, the world as we know it seem to get smaller each day. And with the onset of globalization, small countries such as ours must keep up with other advanced nations in terms of trade and commerce. In turn, it is believed that this move eventually demolishes cultural and national boundaries, creating a so-called global community: whatever a country does is nearly the same as in any other country.

Think about it. How do we measure quality, in terms of products? Performance?

As it is, we measure them according to the standards of more advanced nations. Just like in a commercial, a corned beef is never tasty unless it tastes just like the one in the United States. Slogans such as “Pang world-class,” and “International ang mga design” have now become our bases for quality. I, however, do not discourage comparison, for comparison means to set a higher goal. What is disturbing here is on how the Filipino try to attain such standards that are in some ways nearly impossible given the state of our productivity and economic budget. What must be suggested then is to accept the limits of our capability and in turn, gradually strive harder in our own terms, not in the terms of the more advanced nations. What I mean to say is that because of our lack of identity, we become helplessly insecure of our own achievements.

The Importance of Spirituality

The fact that we are losing ourselves in modern times made me believe that there is a need to reconnect ourselves with our spirituality. It does not mean to say that we must become religious, rather, we must take a serious look on how our belief in the supernatural affect our being.

Of course Filipinos are very superstitious. We Filipinos most often believe in the influence of spirits and psychic forces in our way of life. Take for example on how we respect the Balete tree in fear of the Kapres and Tikbalangs residing in them. Like before swimming in the river, we used to hear mass first in fear of the sirena coming to take us away underwater. With the small old men living in mounds, we take care not to step on him or on his house so as not to anger him. But what do these all mean? Why do we do these things?

And if you would have noticed your own parents, they never decide haphazardly, but instead are in constant consultation with both the physical elements of nature, and more so with the unseen world of the spirits. To put it mildly, their actions reinforces their belief in spiritual conformity.

Our belief, locally known as sampalataya, is not just an objectification of the spiritual world of gods and other creatures. It is more than just faith. It is a way of life, a mindset of beliefs. Taken as a social phenomenon, sampalataya can be viewed as an embodiment of local collective conscience and functions as an effective means of social control and facilitator of actions, in terms of feelings, reverence, hope, and even confidence. In other words, sampalataya can be viewed as a sense of communal spirit, which in turn can also be one level in recognizing our sense of nationalism.

In essence, the Filipino’s notion of human existence means it is a configuration of the harmony between man’s physical body and the spiritual well-being.  At the very core of this perception of selfhood is what one calls diwa. While sampalataya acts as a social phenomenon of collective unconscious, diwa on the other hand is the Filipino’s source of spiritual strength. It is interpreted as the essence of life that gives meaning, validity, and legitimacy to commonly shared convictions. Seen as God-given, diwa is basically the goodness found in every person.

It is therefore vital to realize our inner good as diwa becomes the embodiment of ethical principles and moral ideals in life, the source of goodness and strength of character. To take from our ancestors, one can harmonize himself if he listens to his diwa, and not to the influences of modern living. To align this with our sampalataya to our nation, it becomes a greater tool in unifying the Filipino. So what can be our step in retrieving this holistic world view? It is quite simple.

Applying The Extended Social Family System

We all believe that the family is every person’s first community. As have been said about familism, it is the family that determines every decision a person makes. As we particularize our family’s concern, it can be suggested that our family role and function can also be broadened to encompass a wider aspect of society as part of our extended family.

Each position in the family entails a different function, either as a father, a mother, a son or brother, and a daughter or sister. the father, being the prime provider, is often responsible in the overall aspects of other family members. As the head of the family, he is always careful in his decisions. The mother is most often another provider but she also functions as the nurturer and assistant of the father. Her intuition, level-headedness and emotional attunement is most helpful in harmonizing the interrelationship of the family, including the planning of the family’s budget. The son’s role is second to the father, paritally assuming the father’s role. the son’s role as a brother is to foresee and guide his siblings towards the family’s overall goal. the daughter, in turn, assumes some of the mother’s role and at the same time serves as one who is second to oversee her siblings.

With regards to our social roles, they are most often determined by the positions we assume, being it a teacher, police officer, politician, businessman, or even a street vendor. In the concept of the extended social family function, each role in the family is synonymous to the functions of our role in society. This means that by following our diwa, as either a father, a mother, sister or brother, we can wisely make our decisions. The father and mother acts as overall leaders whose functions are similar to their particular familial sector. Say as being the father and teacher, one teaches the same values he has taught his family and at the same time embody these teachings as an example. As the mother and president of a community group, she serves to harmonize the entire body as well as organizing them. The son and daughter acts as balance within the subordinates of the community.

Following this simple concept and attuning ourselves with our diwa, and our sense of sampalataya, we can finally unite our differences and make one the different faces of the Filipino.

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Sources

Andres, Thomas D.& Pilar Corazon B. Ilada-Andres. (1987) Understanding the

Filipino. Quezon City : New Day

Jocano, F. Landa (2001). Filipino Worldview: Ethnography of Local Knowledge.

Quezon City: Punlad Research House, Inc..

———-(1997). Filipino Value System: A Cultural Definition. Quezon City:

Punlad Research House, Inc..

Ramos, Rosario M.. (1974). The Different Faces of the Filipino Hero (as Reflected in

Nine Filipino Novels 1929-1965). Manila: University of Santo Tomas Graduate School.

With this common notion of men, it goes to say that a man’s barometer of virginity is the hymen. And one common misconception among men is that – if the woman’s hymen is already ruptured, she can no longer be considered virgin. Or, when a woman doesn’t experience slight bleeding during her first sexual intercourse, she’s no longer a virgin and that she already have had previous sexual experience(s).

I conducted a personal survey among the youth regarding the issue of virginity on marriage. There were 150 adolescent male-respondents. The question goes like this – “If on the first night of your wedding, you find out that your newly-wed wife is no longer virgin, what are you going to do?” Are you going to leave her or stay? Why and why not?” And here’s what the result says; 138 or 92% of the respondents said they will leave their wife because they’re expecting their wife is still a virgin. Only 12 or 8% said they will stay and said that hopefully they will learn to accept the situation and 2 of the 8% insisted to ask their respective wives who devirginize them.

Although there’s a rapid increase on the numbers of teen-agers engaging in sex and despite the liberal or westernized ways (e.g. clothes, music, foods, sexual preference, etc) of Filipino male adolescents, they still have a high regard on woman’s virginity in relation to marriage.

In fairness to women, men should take note that hymen is not the sole manifestation of their being virgin. Any woman is considered a virgin as long as she has not been engage in a sexual activity. Some women will not experience slight bleeding during their first sexual intercourse because their hymen might have been already ruptured due to some reasons. Causes of ruptured hymen may be brought about by accidents, biking, horse back-riding and other strenuous activities like gymnastics, karate-do and many others.