Truth About Us

PS: Sorry to disappoint you but this article has nothing to do with you and your lover.

Reflecting the Filipino practices: The Bob Ong Way

There are three ways on how a nation could be known for: (1) by the good things, (2) by the bad things, and (3) by the “norms”. The latter are those things that the nation itself take lightly and laugh about, but it seems like the whole wide world has another to say.

ON FILIPINO VALUES:

Truth: Filipinos are hospitable

Cracking the Truth: Filipinos are so hospitable that we go against our own country.

“Hi, welcome to the Philippines! We break our own law, you break it too. Enjoy your stay!”– page 138

It is not a secret that Filipinos are very hospitable and welcoming. The warm spirit we possess is in fact acknowledged by the whole world. However, there are certain circumstances that test our priorities and loyalty. Are we always on the right track? The answer is no. The problem is that some Filipinos forget the existence of limits and go beyond the perimeter. We contradict our very own tradition, culture, and break our laws; we break the essence of being a Filipino.

Truth: Filipinos are practical

Cracking the Truth: Filipinos would go through blood and pain for the sake of surviving

“Sa sobrang hirap daw ng Pilipinas, lahat ibinebenta na ng mga tao makakain lang. Pati sariling laman. At hindi lamang ito laman na nangangahulugang prostitusyon, kundi mismong mga laman-loob na parte ng katawan.” –page 72

Filipinos always find ways to be able to live and survive. But certain situations make people desperate—situations that call for desperate measures. It is not bad to be practical and all; it becomes bad when we sell our whole being just for money. We must know that our whole being couldn’t be bought by money. We don’t deserve to be paid with a simple amount for that ‘something’ they took. It is very ironic that we sell a part of us to survive when that part of us may just be the cause of our (existence to) end.

Truth: Filipinos are always up to date no matter how hard life gets

Cracking the Truth: Filipinos are set up with a mind that they must always be ‘in’

“Napakalaking abala na sa kasalukuyang henerasyon ang TV na walang remote control. Dyahe na ang teleponong walang camera. At ilang pindot na lang sa cellphone ang pakikipaglokohan nila ka sa kaibigan kahit saan, at kahit anong oras.” –page 73

American influence doesn’t stop when the Philippines finally gained its independence. No matter how hard we deny and refuse it, we are still taken over by their traditions, culture, and trends. Despite all of the poverty life throws at us, we strive hard just to be inside the updated circle of our society. We tend to feel bad and feel ashamed of ourselves when we can’t have something that almost everyone has. We want to have it in an instant. And sometimes, our needs are set aside just to be able get our “wants”. But always remember that what the things we spend our money on determines what we value in life.

ON PHILIPPINE MEDIA:

Truth: Filipinos are big supporters of their idols and kababayan

Cracking the Truth: Filipinos are very supportive that they are the ones who put their idols beyond their reach

“...Pag gumwapo na si BO, magkakaroon na s’ya ng pelikula. Tapos sisikat s’ya at magkakaroon na rin ng mga product endorsement kung saan ang bayad sa kanya ay ipapatong sa presyo ng produktong binibili ng mga Pilipinong mahirap pa sa daga. Tapos yayaman na si BO at hahangaan s’ya ng mga tao dahil mayaman na s’ya, guwapo pa. Kaya bibigyan nila ulit s’ya ng pera. Magpapaulit-ulit yon hanggang sa maisipan n’ya nang maging politico. At sa panahong yon, anak n’ya naman ang mag-aartista.” –page 83

Filipinos are rich with skills, talents, and intelligence. Let’s just give ourselves a pat on the back to discover what we have and to be discovered. There are lots of shows that provide for that need: Pinoy Big Brother, Game KNB?, Showtime, The Voice, and a lot more. Each of these shows need the interaction from the audience to know who really is the One, chosen and loved by people; with this, we never lose a chance to find a way to help especially our kababayan to win. It feels like we also achieve something when our kababayan won, we felt triumphant and proud. Life with the media is a different one. It always need the endless support of the audience, and as long as the audience loves you, different shows, and programs easily comes to you. The tendency is, the more we patronize and support them, even how thankful they are from the bottom of their hearts, the more they being dependent to us. Knowing that we’ve got their backs, they involve themselves in politics to be a part of “change”, unaware that they are the ones that is being changed. We must not blame celebrities who become politically involved. We are a part of their decision and it is us who gave them their thrones. If we don’t want something bad to happen, why patronize and vote for them in the first place?

Truth: Filipinos are fond of talking about others

Cracking the Truth: Filipinos’ love gossip

“...sa bansa raw nila e sumasakop ng ilang pages ang sports news sa mga dyaryo. Samantalang sa atin, kahit sa mismong primetime news sa TV e halos walang balitang sports...pero showbiz, marami. At pagkatapos magkondena ng isang istasyon dahil sa bastos na balita ng kabila, sila naman ang hihirit ng kabastusan.”—page 137

In the Philippines, everyone talks about everyone. Juicy gossips are always present in school, at the barbershop, at the market and even at home. We find it hard to keep a juicy gossip for ourselves; we always end up revealing it to other people. Then, we crave for more. It is evident on our newspapers. Showbiz news seem to be the most important news in it. Of course, we have no choice but to be a consumer of all these things. But the fact that we are aware of what is happening means there could be room for change. Be the change you wish to see in this nation. We could voice out and not just be ignorant because the more that we ignore, the more we let our country sink into the ocean of petty issues. Can we stomach more juicy gossips?

ON FILIPINOS

Truth: Filipinos have a strong dignity and principles

Cracking the Truth: Kapag binangga mo ang paninindigan o prinsipyong pinaniniwalaan ng isang Pilipino, hindi yan titigil maibalik lang uli ang nakagisnan.

“Wag nang pakialaman.” I-legalize ang mga illegal, tapos ang problema! Sisihin na lang natin ulit ang gobyerno pag gusto na natin itong makialam sa ibang bagay na hihingin natin sa kalye.” –page 139

A person who has a strong dignity and principle is actually what we need for the change of our rotten system. It is our right to fight for our rights. However, we must not stop just because things don’t go the way we want them to. No government would listen to every desire of an individual; the government would listen to the shout of a unified nation.

Bob Ong, or even this article, is not against the culture the Filipinos. It envisions a country that is aware of what is happening around. It is time for us to be real Filipinos; to be the catalyst of change we have always dreamed of. You may be hurt, irritated, and angry for reading this but you know what Bob Ong would say? “Natuwa ka man o nainis, ang importantee apektado ka. Tinubuan ka ng pakialam na dati ay wala. At hindi ko iyon ihihingi ng tawad. Hindi ako hihingi ng despensa sa mga nabulabog kong kosensya.” –page 135

Probably many would say that there are greater issues to attend to than with this one. But...“Mahirap magmalasakit sa kapakanan ng buong mundo habang natitisod ka sa mga nagkalat na pulubi sa sarili mong bansa.” –page 136

We always have to start on our own because if we start externally with a foundation so weak, we are still failures at the end of the day.

Tips for writers out there: The Bob Ong Style!

“Hindi lahat nabibigyan ng boses sa papel. Ang iba nga nakukuntento na lang sa ilalim ng tulay o upuan ng bus. Kaya di dapat sayangin ang pribilehiyo na mailapat ang isip sa isang babasahin.”

1. Sasabihin ko lang na higit sa kagustuhan mong maging manunulat, importanteng gusto mo ring magsulat

2. Importante rin na meron kang kahit kaunting puhunang talento sa simula pa lang. Walang gamit ang hasaan kung walang hahasain.

3. Hindi mo kailangang mag-umpisa kaagad sa pagsusulat ng sequel ng El Filibusterismo o conspiracy theory sa pagitan nina George Bush at ng alien sa Predator...Dahan dahan lang habang nag-iipon ka pa ng lakas ng loob at credentials bilang manunulat.

4. Tinitingnan ko ‘to bilang istasyon ng radyo kung saan nasa bandang kailwa ang pang-uunawa ng karaniwang mambabasa, at nasa kanan ang tamang paggamit ng mga salita. Kailangang balanse, sumobra ka lang ng konti sa kanan o konti sa kaliwa, nawawala ang tamang frequency ng signal at naghihikab ang mga tao.

5. Lahat ng kilalang writer na nabuhay sa mundo ay may opinion sa pagsusulat at kumukontra sa opinyon ng iba pang writer. Kaya bilang manunulat, dapat may dati ka nang “boses”. Dalawa ang habol ng tao sa pagbabasa: Matuto at maglibang. Dapat masapul mo ang isa man lang dyan.

6. Ang importante, meron kang mga mambabasang nabibigyan ng inspirasyon sa mundo. Magsulat ka para sa kanila, hindi para sa mga kritiko.

7. Pero kung hindi mo matanggap na itama ng iba ang mga mali mo, hindi para sa’yo ang pagsusulat.

Sample Feature Article

(A Requirement for Communication 100: Introduction to Communication)