Divisions in Philippine Society

I had a ym conversation with a good friend, Monica who has left the Philippines and re-migrated to Spain, yes she is Spanish, but a true citizen of the world. Basically, the conversation made me realize just how deeply divided our country is. In the States, the main divisions are mainly along race lines… the black, white, latino, asian lines are defined by the color of your skin and what language each group speaks… they aren’t as divided in terms of class or economic lines because the United States has a dominant middle class.

 

Our country on the other hand, if you look closer has a really whacked-up society, these are just a few of our divisions:

 

1.      The Economic divisions = Mayaman at Mahirap …. Very few middle class kasi

2.      The Race divisions = Mestiza, Chinito, Moreno/Mullato (for the rich brown skinned folk) and Nognog (for the masa) <no offence meant!>

3.      The Regional divisions = The manileno, ilocano, kapampangan, bikolano, bisaya, ilonggo, batanggeno, etc. – which is really part of our clannish tribal mentality.

4.      The Religious divisions = The Christian majority … which in itself is divided among the Catholics, the Iglesia, Mormons, Born-again, Baptist, Adventist, Anglican, Dating Daan (YEMEN!) <again… peace tayo mga followers ni Bro. Eli> and then the Muslim community pa…

5.      The familial divisions

6.      Oh and on a lighter note, nandyan narin yung Media Divisions = Kapamilya o Kapuso, MTV or Channel V…

 

So what does all this mean? Well, it just goes to show we have a very rich socio-cultural fabric, but what’s so sad is that this is the main reason we can’t seem to get our act together as a country, because in the first place, ask anyone on the street the question “Ano ka?” They’ll probably answer …. Tao! (if he’s pilosopo), Atenista (malamang if he’s from ateneo), Ala eh! Batanggeno (if he chugs 5 gallons of beer and plays with switchblades) <again no offence to them… Jords… peace tayo pare!> ….

 

Rarely will you get an answer saying: “Pilipino ako” <again, kung pilosopo yung tao, sasabihin niya … eh ang labo ng tanong mo eh> but then that’s beside the point.

 

I grew up as a bystander/observer to these things, going to DLSZ for my elementary and secondary studies, and seeing how the top 5-10% of Pinoys live, while myself coming all the way from a middle/working class neighborhood in Paranaque… with an ultra-conservative and Chinese/Ilocano family upbringing, I was in a unique position to see these cliques and divisions. Sometimes, during my stay in Zobel I felt that there were invisible class lines and exclusions to people like me, who weren’t exactly part of the Ayala Alabang community, but don’t get me wrong, I’m not bitter or anything, because, without going through these experiences, I wouldn’t have been who I am right now, and I wouldn’t have wanted to strike out on my own in UST and go out of my old comfort zone and try to discover what the rest of society is all about. In retrospect, that’s probably why I learned to grow an emotional and social armor around myself and do and like all sorts of off-stream/obscure things (such as learn the clarinet, like American football, learn programming) because I wanted to define myself as better or at least different from the pervading cliques.

 

When I got to UST, I got the culture shock of my life, especially with my college, which used to be CAFA (College of Architecture and Fine Arts) we had a crazy mix of bohemians, rockers, artistes, and (just simply) weirdos… everyone in Arki had a slight weirdo-on-the-edge kind of feel mainly because we were more constrained and limited by what can be physically done.

 

So… what am I leading to… basically, I found the middle ground in UST, I met people who weren’t exactly coming from exclusive educations, rich families or Spanish heritages… they didn’t revolve around the same clique as Ateneans or Lasallians… but what I realized is that … You really don’t have to come from those “exclusive” schools to be classy and to have a proper upbringing… It was a humbling experience for me, and because of this, it has made me more sensitive of the huge disparities in Philippine Society. I guess being in the middle makes you see who is on top and who is below much better than anyone else, at the same time, being in the middle gives you the unique position/opportunity to make a difference and bring those two together…