PATRICK ALEGRE NO1

8/24/18
KASPIL2 FINAL

Patrick Alegre Kaspil2 N01

08/24/2019 Final Exam

Based on historical context, the Philippines has always been treated as the minority. Evidently
throughout our history, we have suffered a great deal of maltreatment from countries whom are considered
to be super powered. Our ancestors have endured this oppression which has brought suffering and death
onto our people. Despite that, our colonizers played a vital role in the development of the Philippines in
their own way. With that, the influences have left a mark on our country which can still be seen today. All
of which has resulted to our way of life and our culture to be altered to their likeness as well. Among the
many effects the colonial era has dealt to our country, there are a few that stand out. These consists of the
lack of unity amongst our people, the divisions of the socio – economic classes, the inferiority complex we
have against our colonizers, the lack of development of ones’ own culture, and the recurrence of past
mistakes.
The Philippines has always been split when dealing with pressing matters. In today’s modern era,
there are rifts between the opinion on issues in our country. For example, the issue on allowing the “death
penalty” to be a severe punishment for criminals has been going through a series of debates on whether or
not that will include it. Another issue of controversy is the “Rh bill”, this is more of a debate between the
welfare of our population and religious beliefs. The event that really shows that there is not unison with our
countrymen could be the “People Power Revolution”. As ironic as that sounds, the division is quite still
rampant today wherein people were/are in support for the Marcos’ regime. Yet again, our country was
divided. I believe this could be dated back to time of the Spaniards wherein the Filipinos were not all in
favor of becoming independent. Based on our discussions, the Philippines was set to be a state or province
of Spain. Contrary to popular belief, there were a number of Filipinos in full support of this claim. The
solution for this problem all boils down to our government system, democracy. Everyone is entitled to their
opinion but I think it should be voiced out better in order to allow unison toward our decisions.
One of the reasons why there is no unity in our country, is the distinction between the different
socio - economic classes. Sadly, the harsh reality of the world is that there is a separation with the poor and
the rich. During the Spanish colonial era, this separation was widely known to all. The social pyramid can
be broken down into five different sections. The pinnacle of society would obviously be the Spaniards that
were born and raised in Spain. Next, would be the Spaniards that were raised in the colony that is under
their rule, like the Philippines. After the pure breed would be the citizens coming from the higher class
status, the Mestizos. Then of course, there are the ones considered to be lower class or facing poverty,
Indios. Last, would be the Chinese that were living the in country at that time. Hence, this pyramid shows
how unjust and unfair society was back then. The ethnicity and the situation that they were born into already
predetermines their faith. They have no means of changing their status since they have already been branded
by their heritage. That should not be the case. The government should allocate funds and budget in helping
those in need. By organizing cleanups, better shelters, and a fair tax percentage then that could uplift the
standard of living. They should note that it should not be equality but equity.
This mentality came from our oppressors themselves. Based on the evidences stated above, it seems
that our ancestors developed an inferiority complex toward their colonizers. This entails that they would
rather rely on being under their colonizers than believing in themselves. The Spanish era devised their
government to be in favor of being centralized to them. By establishing barangays and plazas, it allowed
the friars to control the provinces they have been assigned to. Furthermore, the Filipinos back then also
 PATRICK ALEGRE NO1
8/24/18
KASPIL2 FINAL

conformed to the power of Christianity wherein they would base their decisions. Another aspect that shows
how inferior we were, is the how the Americans implemented “Neo – Colonialism”. As a matter of fact,
this shows the true nature of our inferiority since it is like the they babied us toward our independence.
Most of the provisions set by the American under their rule was in preparation of our country to be free.
Within that process, they provided us with military aid and education which guided us accordingly.
Although with that service, they sort of gave us something like training wheels where they would be
benefitting from it along the way. It has been stated in the reading “Independence with strings”, that most
of the American aid would be bestowed on us but with prior agreement at first. Any of the equipment or
supplies that would be sent would have to past through a mutual agreement as well. Then all of the services
rendered would have to come back since no one which can be claimed as our, it still remains in the
possession of the US afterwards. Given that, it is evident that they had no clear intention of helping us
without getting compensation from it too. The solution to this is better awareness of the Filipino products,
talents, and opportunities. Giving importance to patriotism can be the right step toward repressing this
mentality
Given that our country has gone through more than one colonizer in the past, it has caused confusion
in building identity. The struggle to find one’s identity can be drawn back from the being forced fed the
culture of each of our colonizers. It is a common saying that Filipinos is a mixture of different cultures and
that is what makes them Filipino. That perception is rather problematic because it implies that everything
that we do or have is either borrowed or is replicated. There is no sense of originality if we are labeled as a
diverse culture. Before the Spaniards arrived, we were a civilization thriving in hope to be our own. In fact,
based on the qualities of the pre – colonial Filipino, we could have stood on our own. There were already
forms of government at the time with the sultanate and its rajahs. In addition, maritime trade relations with
other countries were also created at that time. Lastly, there was also a form of religion which was Islam.
Based on those facts alone, the pre –colonial Filipino we would’ve been able to develop on their own
overtime. We can fix this problem by embracing our past since we cannot change what made us who we
are. We also can resort to making these foreign influences our own.
The greatest mistake I think the Filipinos have is that they have not learned from their own mistakes.
Thus, the purpose of history is for people not repeat it nor for them to recreate it. Most, if not all, of what I
have stated in this essay is still happening today. In terms of being under a super power, our president
Rodrigo Duterte has been creating ties with China while we are all being kept in the dark. Hopefully, by
the end of his presidency, we are not under their rule but rather just allies at most. Next, would be the
separation of the social classes. The area of which Taft is situated, best describes that this problem is still
happening. There are surrounding condos in the area while there is rural area in the center. This just goes
to show the distinct difference between the privileged and the lesser. Last, would be Filipinos are still
following the crab mentality, they resort to the mindset that everything that is being made locally is still
inferior to those that is imported. They are stuck with the idea that our fellow countrymen are not at the
same standard of those internationally. I have noticed that most of reflection papers in this class talk about
how the colonial era has parallelism with the present day. In order to fix past mistakes, we must use the
historical context as reference in making decisions. Since it provides an avenue to what happens next
In brief, our country has suffered a lot of hardships in its journey to freedom. The problems that
have occurred during that era can still be seen today. In my opinion, it all starts within ourselves before we
can try to solve these problems. As cliché as that sounds, we should all play our part in the development of
our country.