A VOICE FROM AMERICA
By Ernie D. Delfin
WHY FILIPINOS
FIND IT EASIER TO BECOME
MORE SUCCESSFUL OUTSIDE THE PHILIPPINES?
On a typical
business day, I talk and deal with predominantly
non-Filipinos and my mindset is very much different whenever I talk and conduct
any business with a Filipino. It’s inexplicable but it is a reality that
Filipino Americans who have been in America for decades would agree
with me. Let me explain.
From time to time, we Filipinos laugh at the joke that the
Filipino people are indeed “confused”
people because they have lived in
the convent for over 400 years under the Spaniards who subjugated the people
with a Bible on one hand and a sword on the other hand, then suddenly they
found themselves living under Hollywood under the Americans with the glitz and relatively new found freedom given by an imperialistic Uncle Sam. This is a fact that Filipinos still mentally suffer, which is somewhat parallel to the descendants of black slaves from Africa whose physical shackles have been removed
since the Abolition of Slavery but their psychological chains (and mindset as slaves) still exist.
For most American employers,
this phenomenon is a common knowledge as dealing with the Blacks requires another management paradigm because
many blacks often raise the “race card” whenever some degree of
discipline is imposed upon them. To this
day, the blacks often play their cards
well by resorting to the “tyranny of the weak”
by having the government pass
this misplaced affirmative action blacks
and other minorities must be given some “extra but unearned points” in matters of employee hiring, promotion or
some set-aside programs on government contracts simply because once upon a time
their ancestors were exploited as
slaves. Having won that initial victory,
the blacks now are demanding “reparations” from their own government for having suffered as slaves 400 years ago,
following the triumph of the Japanese people getting some form of “reparations”
from the federal government for having been unconstitutionally rounded and
imprisoned in “concentration camps” during World War II. In America, these things are possible where
someone can sue your own government for the sins of your ancestors! What a
country!
Going back to my topic: Why Filipinos find it easier to become more
successful outside his country the Philippines, especially in America where
freedom to excel is not curtailed but rewarded.
I dare say that it is mainly due
to some cultural flaws that were added, inflicted or imposed by all the Filipino
colonizers from the Spaniards to the Americans to the Japanese, since the turn of the l6th century. Subtly, this fact and practice
are still unknowingly perpetrated and reinforced
by centuries old institutions like the Catholic Church, without their
archaic traditions of celibacy, poverty (I read they are the richest
church!) sectarian or exclusive
schools, like Ateneo, La Salle, Letran,
San Beda, St. Scholastica’s,
Assumption, Maryknoll, that subliminally still practice social
segregation or caste system in many facets of public or private endeavors.
The Philippines still practices a lot
of blatant and open forms of
discrimination especially in hiring, which is a social taboo and
unconstitutional in America. Consider
this newspaper ad for a Administrative Secretary (permit me to exaggerate for
emphasis): “ Must be 24 to 34 Female, at least 5’ 4” in height, no more than
l19 lbs, long hair, beautiful face, fair
complexion, must talk like an Ateneo or Assumption graduate, must live in Forbes Park or Bel-Aire and
whose parents are also graduates of the exclusive schools.” As the hiring authority is often headed by
graduates of these “exclusive” schools,
graduates of the University of Batanes
or Tawi-Tawi Colleges (I am
making up these college names) will seldom seldom have a chance of being hired in places in old
established institutions like San
Miguel, AIM, the Ayala Group of Companies, Bank of the Philippines Islands and
many other “conservative”
companies, regardless of the
talents or the potential of these deserving but “socially poor” applicants.
Fast forward. Some of these “rejected” applicants who are studious, talented,
ambitious but quite dissatisfied in a country that puts a cap on
their potential because they were born in the wrong
side of the tract migrate to
America or any other country that gives
them a chance to work and show their talents, initiative and work ethics. It really does not matter how they arrive in
America –-- as an immigrant, tourist or
student or “jump-the-ship seaman or
sometimes even under another name that
is shown in another person’s passport or
visa --- the path is almost the
same. The newly arrived immigrant
faces lots challenges but he can see a
beautiful ray of sunshine at the end of the tunnel that he never saw in the cul-de-sac of
employment opportunities in the Philippines. America
becomes a great “equalizer” of peoples like him, a country that normally disregards what your last name is nor where you came from,
simply because America is historically a land of frustrated “immigrants”
from all over the world.
Once given a chance to work in any field, the typical immigrant or in our example
this “frustrated” Filipino
really tries hard to prove himself in the eyes of his new employer. It is really very easy to excel in his
first job as he normally is over-qualified or over-educated. For
instance, just to earn a living and have
a stepping-stone, college graduate like
a CPA accepts bookkeeping or accounting clerk position where he competes
against high school graduates who are doing the same job as he is doing and not
really competing against American CPAs
who are entirely in a different ball game.
Soon, the boss gives the newly
arrived Filipino a promotion because oftentimes, the new immigrant is more “obedient” and
oftentimes never says NO to the boss’ requests for extra work or overtime. From this humble beginnings, the Filipino starts to dream that he can
indeed rise from the bottom to the top
--- as high as he wanted to be.
Gradually, small life’s triumphs feed on more victories. Many immigrants including Filipinos rise to
become department heads, managers and executives of their employers where they
often stick on for decades. Very few
Filipinos, unfortunately, take the calculated risks unlike the Chinese, Japanese,
Korean or Vietnamese to become entrepreneurs and business owners. These are all the modern day “Victors” of America as
documented by Professors Danko and Stanley in their best-selling book,
“Millionaires Next Door” where they have concluded that the first degree
immigrants in America have l6 times more chances to become a millionaire than
the average natural born American. Quite
impressive. But this is the downside according to the authors: The first-degree immigrants made the wealth, the second generation enjoys it,
and then the third generation squanders it.
And the cycle begins!
In America, as there is an
obvious and very transparent dignity of
labor (students are not ashamed to be seen working as janitors or waitresses in
America) whereas in the Philippines during my time, it’s quite embarrassing to be
seen as a janitor or waiter in a restaurant by your fellow students or
professors. In the USA, to be part-time employee among high school or college
students is encouraged and commendable
whereas the attitude in the Philippines
is the opposite. If you are not a
“professional” student, you are not
“in” and these societal attitudes subtly
pervade that often make prejudice and discrimination an accepted norm. Students from distant provinces when they go
to Imperial Manila to study often group by themselves because they are not
accepted as equals because they are “promdis”.
Words like “Promdi” (from the
province) “Waray-waray” or “Saryaya” or “Bocolana Maidtech” or “magsasaka” or “mangingisda” often carry some subtle form of prejudice by
many in the A society, especially in “exclusive” schools. I knew, I was subjected to it in my first
few years in Letran as a working student.
when I was “judged” initially
based on where I came from and
not for what I have above my ears. (Am I
glad that was past tense!) What a
society! Then, go figure what happens to these students after graduation in
search for opportunities in the Philippines' real world where social classes
still exist?
* * **
On
somewhat related topic, these societal
or cultural flaws are also being influenced greatly by the education bulimia in the Philippine
cul-de-sac system of public schools.
Our curricula in Philippine schools
(that is also true in many respects here in the United States, by the way)
must be revamped and overhauled not only because of “massive grafts”
according to many newspapers accounts but also
what are being taught to schools are soon forgotten as they are not
quite useful or relevant in the real world.
Students parrot words and memorize theories just to get
passing grades. Like a bulimic, students soon throwaway
useless knowledge that were forced unto them by their school curricula, as soon as school is over. Many Filipinos are now degreed but fewer
and fewer are really educated.
It is not
entirely the fault of the students but the schools as well. Students must not only enjoy their classes
but must be taught things that should be
retained years after their school attendance. For instance, what were the benefits of our mandatory
24 units in Spanish in college then?
That should been an entirely
optional subject! Instead, high school or colleges must have mandatory units in Citizenship, Codes of Good
Behaviors and Right Conduct, Crime and Punishment, as well as courses in
Entrepreneurships. Students must also learn basics like finance,
“family budgeting” “business
conducts” “how to make a business out of
your profession” “balancing family life
with your profession” “the role of a family in a society’s future” “volunteerism” “individual’s
obligation (and rights) in a civil society” “how to fight a just cause within the system” and many other things that are equally
important in the real world. Like
parents going through prenatal lessons,
all students must be educated and be made mentally,
physically, socially and psychologically
prepared with what transpires in
the real world where grades and school nepotism are no longer
important.
* * * *
On this
subject of culture and values, let me quote
F. Landa Jocano, in his book Anthropology of the Filipino People IV: FILIPINO VALUE SYSTEM:
“ The notion of value in the
Filipino culture has not yet been clarified. Even a cursory glance at what has
already been written about it reveals the absence of working definition of the
concept in the context of Filipino culture, id est, in terms of local knowledge
and practices. Many writers simply went
ahead and wrote about Filipino values.
In the process. Even traditional
norms and coping mechanisms had been described by them as “values”. This has caused much of our current CONFUSION
(emphasis is mine) and misunderstanding of Filipino values and
practices.”
Quite a
profound observation. As the Filipinos
are talented and resilient people like the bamboo, there is really NO reason
why they cannot succeed in our homeland
if only we learned the lessons of more progressive countries and adapt them
with our own sense of cultural idiosyncrasies and not just be constant like the
tribal groups when Magellan reached the archipelago in 1521. Mr. Jocano’s book is indeed a very scholarly book but I think
it almost ignores what is happening in
the Global Village that now demands global competitiveness brought upon by hi-technoloy and the effects
of Information Age, partly because, I would assume, it was written/published in October l997.
In conjunction with this book, I
highly recommend another excellent book
“The Lexus and the Olive Tree” by Thomas Friedman about the dramatic changes in
our world due to globalization and the wonders of the information society and
the internet.
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E-mail columnist at: erdelusa@hotmail.com or drbannatiran@yahoo.com
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Websites: www.progressivetimes.org and www.katipunan-usa.org
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