By Marge Gonzales

Onli Noypi. This is the fresher version of the “Only in the Philippines” cliché. Despite the current political issues that bother us these days, why not pause and reflect on things that can make us Filipinos smile.

In an article for Light Touch magazine, Filipino pastor Ed Lapiz listed some of the characteristics that made Filipinos special.

1. Filipinos are brown and should be proud of it. Instead of being ashamed or feeling inferior because of our brown skin, Lapiz pointed out that “While we pine for a fair complexion, the white people are religiously tanning themselves, whenever they could, under the sun or some artificial light, just to approximate the Filipino complexion.”

Despite the increasing market for whitening products, some Filipinos are beginning to appreciate their kayumanggi color and enhancing it all the more by tanning products.

2. Filipinos are good linguists. The article emphasized that Filipinos can easily learn other dialects and languages. In fact, an average Pinoy can speak or at least understand at least three languages: his dialect (Waray or Cebuano, for instance), Filipino, and English.

Lapiz also pointed out that Filipino language is not sexist. We have many gender-sensitive or neutral words like asawa (husband or wife), anak (son or daughter), magulang (father or mother), kapatid (brother or sister), biyenan (father-in-law or mother-in-law) , manugang (son- or daughter-in- law), and bayani (hero or heroine).

3. Filipinos are social weavers. We like to relate and interrelate with other people. Pakikisama and pakikipagkapwa-tao are two of the most important Filipino values that are inherent in us.

Our language has words interrelating with “socialization”: we have kasama, kaisa, kapanalig, kabayan, and, of course, kapuso and kapamilya.

Aside from those mentioned in Lapiz’s article, there are other things that make us smile when we think of the Filipino. Here are some of them:

1. The Filipino cuisine is world-class. Our very own adobo is becoming popular around the world because of the “American Adobo” video up on Youtube in which model Travis Kraft proudly demonstrates—in Filipino—how to cook the “ang sarap sarap” adobo.

2. We’re a country of artists. We’re oozing with talent: from choirs and cultural dancers to athletes, chefs, and writers, from painters, graphic artists, and designers to performers and actors–we have a lot of them locally. Where do you suppose producer Cameron Mackintosh got most of his actors for Miss Saigon?

3. We are a happy nation. The ordinary Juan, no matter what problem he has in life, is always capable of smiling and giving jokes. He is addicted to SMS or “text” and has a number of “textmates.” He sends GM (group message) to friends and has at least two SIM cards. He sends and receives not only text jokes but a series of them: the Inday series, text messages telling the life of a typical Filipina housemaid named Inday, has become popular because of its basically Pinoy humor. The series also elevates the level of the usual housemaid by depicting her as articulate and English-proficient.

4. Filipinos are optimistic and persevering. They are capable of seeing alternative solutions to problems and creating new job opportunities—on their own. Thus we have vendors who sell the tokneneng, the kwek-kwek, DVDs, and cellphone accessories. There are also the takatak boys (those who sell cigarettes and candies on the streets), padyak boys (or pedicab drivers) the barkers (those who call for passengers to fill in the jeepneys and the FX), the deodorant testers—the list is long. They are the people who, despite the odds, try to survive in life through the Pinoy diskarte.

Much has been written on the negative issues affecting the Pinoy, but maybe what we all need to do is see the brighter side–because there is, and there always will be. After all, we Filipinos are capable of laughing off anything because there is one thing that is common among us that can last for eons: the dugong Pinoy.

This dugong Pinoy, plus the natural diskarte and happy stance of more than 80 million Juan dela Cruzes, enables them to survive wherever the diaspora leads them and despite the negative socio-political issues.
Photo: “Mimic” by Ding Fuellos
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