What makes me proud to be Filipino, and then some…

Wanderer Nina has tagged me to name at least three reasons why am proud and happy to be a Filipino. Here’s why:

1. We grin and bear it. Filipinos, particular those I’ve met in the unspoiled countryside, have an amazing capacity to tide through life’s misfortunes and just smile through it all. They might be on their last bowl of noodles but they’ll be happy to share it with you, plus a drink or two. Filipinos are very spiritual that way. Perhaps they’ve realized there’s no use sulking about their sorry state and so just sing, dance or humor the blues away.

2. Our unsung heroes, and their ability to sacrifice. It’s not easy being away from one’s family and be a Filipino worker in a foreign land. Still, we have legions of them facing isolation and loneliness just so they can send money back home and pump up the economy.

3. Our natural wonders. It is true. God must have been truly inspired when He worked on the canvas and made the Philippines. You just have to see it to believe it.

And the top three things that piss me off about Filipinos right now:

1. Our tendency to show off. I wonder why well-off Filipinos have to have the biggest house on the block or the biggest cars on the road. I see bulky SUVs like Toyota Fortuners in the narrow streets/ traffic gridlock that’s Manila and it just freaks me out.

2. The Filipino working environment. Suddenly, migrating to the valleys of New Zealand appear better than having to deal with a lifetime of tsismis, sipsip and padrinos that characterize the Filipino workplace. I absolutely detest the fact that promotions at work consist of a criteria of 80% “projection” and 20% “brains”, not to mention “wrong grammer” 😀

3. Our fondness for “shortcuts,” the easy way out. Simply put, we can’t follow rules because of this character. It always happens to me while lining up in the neighborhood grocery that some ill-mannered fella would suddenly barge in front of me with nary an excuse or remorse for what he has done. And when I tell him that there’s a line, he would say “Am only buying two items anyway.”

Our penchant for shortcuts will ensure that drivers will continue to overtake each other on the roads and grease money will line the pockets of corrupt public officials, simply because we don’t obey rules. We criticize the system but we don’t do our part in helping reform the system. How pathetic.