Thursday, July 19, 2007 @ 8:00 AM

0 comments

“People usually have the notion that leaving the Philippines is an indirect way of saying that ‘I am not proud to be a Filipino’. It is okay to leave the country to broaden your horizon, what is important is that you never forget to come back”, my fourth year Filipino teacher once told us in class. Those words have always stuck with me ever since she first mentioned them. For me, those words are the epitome of a good, or rather, great Filipino citizen.

Being a real Filipino citizen is not all about patronizing Filipino products and being fluent in our vernacular. Sure, those are some of the ways to learn more about culture, but remember; being a true Filipino goes beyond that. You cannot blame a Filipino for buying something imported because it is more cost-effective compared to the Filipino brand. You cannot blame a Filipino if they were born and raised in a foreign way. These are not the person’s fault, because that is how he is supporting himself and how he is raised. He is just being practical. The more important thing is that he tries to do all he can to learn more about our beloved country.

In school, Filipino and History teachers only teach a brief background of pre-Hispanic Philippines. Yes, they talk about the datus, barangays and tribe system, but they overlook the culture of our ancestors for our ancestors point-of-view. We base our history from our colonizers’ point-of-view. We have much pre-Hispanic literature talking about our history and culture waiting to be told by our elders who will soon leave this world, but only few people bother to take a look at these things. A good Filipino will go beyond the common knowledge of Filipino history textbooks and venture into ancient tribal literature to gain more knowledge about his Mother Land.

I know a lot of self-proclaimed nationalistic Filipinos who say that they will never leave the Philippines because they love Her too much. They are too idealistic, to the point that they will put their country first before themselves. Let’s be practical. The Philippines is a third world country, and it cannot sustain the living of every Filipino citizen. How can you help your country if you cannot help yourself first? It is through helping ourselves that we can change our community and eventually, our country.

I admire the people who pushed for the dual-citizenship policy. Yes, they may have left and eventually became a citizen of another country, but they had always yearned to come back home. Those people behind the policy are exemplary Filipino citizens. They might be in the other corner of the world, far away from the Philippines, but She was always in their heart and mind. Their legal papers stated that they are not already of Filipino citizenry, but in their heart and in their mind, they are still Filipinos. I am glad that they took a leap of faith to show their love for our country through this manner.

Discipline, respect, values, culture, hospitality, are some of the many values that one needs in order to be a good Filipino citizen, but the for me, most important of these is loyalty. Loyalty does not have to be physical. Being a Filipino is more than just saying that you are proud to be one. You need try crossing the limits to be a Filipino sa isip, sa salita at sa gawa. A true Filipino never fails to do their best in trying to learn the sacrifices of our heroes, from pre-Lapu-lapu to post-Macliing times, because a good Filipino citizen lies within the heart, mind and soul of an individual.

Labels: Module 9