Filipinos, what are we doing right?

MY FAVORITE Inquirer kontrabida John Nery struck a chord with his recent columns, “The misery of being Filipino” and “Filipinos, what are we doing wrong?” (7/7/15 and 7/14/15). Wallowing in frustration over unfulfilled promise is our national pastime. However, Bases Conversion and Development Authority president Arnel Casanova struck an excellent counterchord: “The mindset should be—‘What are we doing right?’ Pessimism and self-pity will not make us move forward. Hope, optimism and bold action will.”

Filipinos, first, have done right in upholding free speech, however imperfectly. We are at least guaranteed the right to speak out against our multiplying problems. We have the region’s most vibrant free press, despite the continuing murder of journalists. If we fail to progress now, at least a future Lee Kuan Yew may patiently be listening in the next generation.

In contrast, Singaporeans are grappling with how 16-year-old Amos Yee was criminally convicted under their strict obscenity and anti-religious hate speech laws. Yee uploaded a video titled “Lee Kuan Yew is Finally Dead” and alleged that both Lee and Jesus were “power-hungry and malicious but deceive others into thinking they are both compassionate and kind.” His own mother filed a police report seeking counseling for him, in part because she feared for his safety.

My friend Sudhir Vadaketh’s book, “Hard Choices,” posits that Singapore needs more democratic space to question its longstanding policies, even those so seemingly fundamental as its definition of meritocracy. Further, restricting media hampers Singaporeans in today’s knowledge-based, creative economy. “Hard Choices” was published by the National University of Singapore and is prominently on display in bookstores beside Lee’s biographies. Further, we recently saw Hong Kong students fill its streets in peaceful protest for electoral reform, wielding umbrellas and yellow ribbons against tear gas.

Filipinos, second, have done right in nurturing a culture that so strongly inclines us to building rapport. Our national values dangal (honor) and malasakit (compassion) reflect a sense of dignity intertwined with that of one’s community. Takot sa Diyos (fear of God) likewise internalizes a worldview grounded in concern for others.

We have something special that makes our overseas Filipino workers so welcome in service-oriented industries worldwide. Credit Suisse Singapore and Bank of Singapore CEOs Lito Camacho and Bing de Guzman are neither Swiss nor Singaporean. The United Nations praised Catholic Philippines for taking in Rohingya refugees that other countries intended to send back into the ocean, becoming an important moral compass even for its Muslim neighbors.

We take for granted how amiable we remain even in the armpit-to-face conditions of Manila’s MRT, or how Anderson Cooper was stunned by Typhoon “Yolanda” survivors still smiling amidst ruined houses and relatives’ corpses. Consider how ultramodern Singapore needs the likes of the Singapore Kindness Movement. Founded in 1997, it encourages Singaporeans to get to know their neighbors, give up seats on the bus for the elderly, and be civil in reacting to the likes of Yee. Its spokesman, Cesar Balota, prominently had SKM’s longtime mascot, Singa the Courtesy Lion, publicly resign because he was “too tired to continue facing an increasingly angry and disagreeable society.” You guessed it, Balota is a naturalized former Filipino.

Filipinos, third, have done right in nurturing creativity. We take for granted how we appreciate art, music and literature, even if we get overly excited over regional productions of “Phantom of the Opera” or “Wicked” that do not even feature Sarah Brightman, Michael Crawford or Idina Menzel, at the expense of our incredible local productions. We have numerous friends who gleefully post pictures of finds from P100-book sales. We like to think that Filipinos can take more flexible approaches in hard and social sciences from agriculture to law, despite our ongoing struggles to modernize aspects of our memorization-oriented education.

In contrast, consider how Singapore now invests millions of dollars in performing arts venues and identifying talent in schools outside traditional focuses on math and science. “Hard Choices” describes employers’ frustration with seemingly cookie-cutter Singaporean resumés, near-identical from stellar grades to civic activities. How many TED talks have there been on grit and innovation, yet the University of the Philippines thinks these are in its drinking water?

Are we not doing enough of what we are doing right? Our free press has failed to initiate deeper debates or to advance thought leadership in regional or technical issues. Our debates on recent legislation such as reproductive health, cybercrime and the peace process have been woefully superficial, still stuck in whether the Bible is a valid legal authority or whether Shari’ah law in Philippine cultural contexts sanctions acid-throwing. Our ability to build rapport has not assembled an array of friends against China’s territorial incursions. It is twisted into counterproductive apathy in pakikisama (getting along) and a mindset that all legal rules are negotiable. Our innate creativity has not received sustained, institutional support and Filipino telenovelas, films, play scripts and ballads have yet to dominate the English-speaking world.

Harvard Business School currently posits that modern businesses need only do one thing excellently to succeed. Perhaps we should stop bewailing what we lack and focus on building the several strengths that make the Filipino uniquely great.

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