My 160th Post

Miss Cory Potts: Tell me what you love about the Philippines or being Filipino, and what you do to show it.


It's been two weeks since I first read about Miss Cory Potts' blog giveaway but I haven't sent an entry yet. I have made several drafts already but I can't seem to finish everyone of them. So, I deleted all those drafts and as of this writing, I promised myself that I will finish this post, no matter what!

The question above seems very easy to answer. But I am wrong. I thought the answer to that question would be just like a statement that would go like this: I love the Philippines' hospitality! (Which seems to be a generic and gasgas answer). But Philippines' hospitality is really different compared to other countries, there's no doubt about it, and I can attest to it even though I haven't been to any other country other than my Philippines.

There's also our being family-oriented. One thing that I am very proud of being in this country is that your family is really FAMILY, they won't deny us of anything. We take good care of our lolos and lolas, unlike other countries who put their grannies to homes for the aged. That's very rare here in our country because we value our family so much that we personally take care of everybody.

We have our very own Bayanihan. What you read in your elementary books about Filipino values would not have been written there had it not been true. Personally, I've encountered several experiences where the Filipino Bayanihan  is proved to be still true and existing in the hearts of Filipinos. When I worked as a bookkeeper in one of the NGO's, I noticed a very large framed photo of men carrying a nipa hut. Yes, the standard bayanihan photo we see in our elementary books. I thought that it was just put there as a decoration and as a means to inspire their staff but the caption of the photo says that it was taken during one of the NGO's projects a few years back. That was around 2007 or 2008. So it just proves that bayanihan is still alive.

here's a photo taken from MinLand.ph website.
Photo was taken in one of their projects' Community Action Planning.
They are seen transferring a sitio purok.

SHARING. Filipino sharing is a usual and common sight. In tight communities such as in the barrio, neighbors would sometimes ask fellow neighbors for bigas, asin, toyo, suka. I know this is no longer common to our modern subdivisions and the availability of the competing sari-sari stores have lessened the "pahiram muna" attitude of Filipinos.

Our Philippines is such a treasure. Let's forget about talks of corruption, differences in religion and political affiliations, let's set aside the news that the current Mayor of my city has just punched a Sheriff. When differences are set aside, one can truly say what a beautiful country we have. And I'm not just talking about our natural resources, I'm also talking about our people.

I've had much opportunities to go and work abroad but I still remain in my humble country. Many people have told me that our country is poor. Yes, it is. I'm not a hypocrite. I know what I earn here is too measly compared to my friends outside the country, but I choose to work here. This country is so poor, that's why I want to use my skills in this country. If some people think that my efforts are not properly compensated here, I don't care. After all, what's more fulfilling than to work for my country? Fulfillment is not just about salary. I have nothing against Filipinos who labor abroad in search for greener pastures. After all, they are still our modern heroes. What I don't like is when people say, Pagbutihan mo ang pag-aaral para makapag-abraod ka. Is there no hope at all in our country? I certainly hope that Filipinos would use their talents and skills here in the Philippines where they were born.

The spirit of patriotism, honestly, is much diminished. The modern Filipinos of my age bracket (i'm just 20-something) and below have not personally gone through the colonization and war periods and somehow, they never appreciate what our history tells us. Too bad, but I hope, that in own my little way, I could inspire little children not to get disappointed why we are not one of the states of America.

There's still so much more that I want to share of what I love about the Philippines. I love it that we have so many beautiful places and tourist spots all over our country. To name a few, I've been to Bohol, Baguio, Camiguin, and my very own place in Davao (that's including Davao City, Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte and Davao Oriental). I promised myself that I should first explore my country before going abroad. And my boyfriend is supportive about it, he even suggested that we should start with Mindanao. How about boarding a flight to the newest Cebu Pacific destination? Tawi-tawi, anyone? My boyfriend is a seaman and he's been to different countries. I asked him which country is his favorite, and he answered, Philippines!!! He said, there's no place like home. (Yeah, right!, I said, "love your own"). But on a serious note, my boyfriend said that the Philippines' culture and values really sets it apart from the others.

Just in case I'm already boring you out of your wits, here's one last thing that I'm proud of: I support Filipino products. Have you heard of OTOP? Well, it stands for One Town, One Product. It features products all over the Philippines. I'm a very big fan of their exhibits here in Davao and Tagum City. Unfortunately, I think that their website is so longer updated. But anyway, even without OTOP, our town fiestas and festivals (think: Kadayawan, Ati-atihan, Dinagyang, etc.) would definitely bring out the local products which would then be sold in tiangge. And I really really love tiangge! Only in the Philippines!

(--,)