Viewing the Philippines in a Different Light
Posted on October 18th, 2009 under Inspirational Views
By Scott Allford
If you live outside of the Philippines and you watch or read the news you may feel very justified in believing that the Philippines is a very dangerous country. Savaged by typhoons, earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, and terrorist attacks. You may also be assured in your belief that it is a poor country with images of children picking through garbage, slums, and corruption scandals broadcast in most international news reports. I am not going to deny that these things are true, however, they are not all that the country contains. Not every person in the Philippines is poor, a terrorist, or a victim of terror. In fact other countries around the world suffer from these same problems yet they do not become iconic images of those nations.
The common view of the Philippines
A few months ago I was at a roof-top birthday party in Makati filled with socialites and expats. Whilst there I was introduced to a German ‘journalist’, and my friend asked him why the Philippines is portrayed in such a negative light in the foreign media. His response was in two parts; Firstly because in his experience he could not sell stories about the Philippines in Germany if they were not about poverty violence, or corruption. Secondly, he said that because there is so much poverty, violence, and corruption there is nothing else to report on. After saying this he sipped his glass of red wine and was whisked away into a group of Filipino socialites.
Perhaps the red wine was ‘poor’ in taste, or the fact that that particular roof-top was one of the few in Makati which doesn’t have a swimming pool made him focus on the poverty in the Philippines, or maybe the sounds of merrymaking were ‘violent’ on his ears. I think that it was none of these things. Germany, a developed country, has slums. But if the focus can be moved away from the poverty in the developed countries and put on some islands way out in the Pacific Ocean, then people in developed countries can feel a little bit better.
I remember growing up in Australia, taking garbage out to the dump after cleaning up the garden. I would see Aboriginals picking through the garbage for food. Yet that has never been an iconic image of Australia. I went to ‘water villages’ in Malaysia and Brunei and thought how similar they look to slums in Manila. Yet ‘water villages’ are tourist attractions and the slums here are not. I lived in South Korea a few hundred kilometres away from the DMZ, with jets and helicopters flying overhead all the time it felt like a war zone. In the spring I would have 40 tanks facing in the direction of my apartment. Yet South Korea is generally not viewed or branded as a dangerous country. And South Korea has slums too. Perhaps the time will come when people outside the Philippines will come to realise that the branded image of the Philippines portrayed in the media is only a small piece of the full picture of this country.
A Different View
Since the Philippines was settled by people 30,000 years ago this country has blossomed into a mix of over 180 indigenous ethnic groups, over half of which also represent unique linguistic groups. This array of cultures, languages, and cultural artifacts cannot be matched by most nations of the world. From the Ilocano, Pangasinense, Kapampangan, Tagalog, Bicolano, and Visayans to the Binukid, Moros, Ati, Igorot, and the T’boli, just to name a few. These cultures are rich, strong and proud and in most cases the people that make up these cultures are very friendly and welcoming to outsiders. On a trip to Sagada I was welcomed into a very warm and friendly Kankanaey family. They showed us around Sagada and told us stories of Kankanaey cultural practices. They even taught me how to wear a traditional bahag (a hand-loomed loin cloth or G-string).
Neighbouring Sagada is Ifugao, with vast rice terraces that shape the mountains of the region. The oldest rice terraces are 6,000 years old, which is 1,000 years older than the oldest pyramid in Egypt. If put end to end the rice terraces dwarf the Great Wall of China and the rice terraces were not made by using slave labor like most other ancient wonders of the world.
The Banaue Rice Terraces are a UNESCO World Heritage site. But they are not alone. The Philippines have numerous UNESCO world heritage sites including the Baroque churches of San Agustin Church in Manila, Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur, San Agustin Church in Paoay, Ilocos Norte, and Sto. Tomas de Villanueva Church in Miag-ao, Iloilo. There is also the beautiful and historic town of Vigan in Ilocos Sur. Furthermore, there are the natural UNESCO World Heritage sites of the Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park and the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park.
Lastly the Philippines consists of 7,107 beautiful islands. These islands contain remote beaches and amazing rock formations as well as other natural wonders like the Chocolate Hills in Bohol, the perfectly conical Mt. Mayon volcano or the stunning Bacuit Bay in El Nido, Palwan. But also on these islands is a range of biodiversity not seen in most other places on the planet. In Romblon, Sibuyan Island is known as the Galapagos of Asia as it contains such a diverse range of species which can be found nowhere else on the planet. If you get off these islands and dive into the cool blue-turquoise waters of the Philippines, you may also see some of the richest biodiversity in the world’s seas. The Verde Island Passage has been named as the ‘centre of the centre’ of marine biodiversity in the world. It has over 300 species of corals as well as vast numbers of fish that you will not find anywhere else.
With all that this country has to offer I am baffled as to why it has been branded in such a negative way by the International media. However, I think that more and more people are starting to discover that there is a different side to the Philippines to the one they have been bombarded with for the past few decades. Those who come to the Philippines to seek out the beauty of this country will not be disappointed. However, first time travellers to the Philippines should beware, just like me and many other foreigners, this amazing country may compel you to stay quite a bit longer than you initially planned.
(Scott M. Allford has lived and worked in Australia and South Korea and has travelled extensively throughout Asia- Mongolia, China, Tibet, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia and Japan – fell in love with the Philippines and decided to allocate at least two years to comprehensively cover the country.)
Thank you Mr. Allford, for the wonderful article you wrote about the Philippines. I live in Chicago, and all I here about the country of my birth are negative images, slums, and corrupt officials. The sad part is most Americans believe what they see on television. They don’t realize that there are so many good things about the Philippines. The worst media offenders, I believe, are: CNN, BBC of Great Britain, and FOX news. The media portrays my country as the worst place to live, and yet American violence today are so rampant that they are committed mostly by uneducated, viscious Americans youths, but you don’t hear those kinds of tragedy outside the US, why? because the media blocks it from getting known outside the country because it makes them look bad. I think the Philippines should start to censor whatever goes out of the foreign media, just like Malaysia or the US.
viva las filipinas!..
This was written by a Pinoy couple who now live in the US.
Would like to share with you what we found out as the reason why
cruise ships of the big cruise companies skip Manila. My wife and I
are regular cruisers and we always talk to the Filipino crew. When we
took the 12-day Mediterranean cruise I asked the Pinoy waiters
(because we are in a big group, we usually request for Pinoy waiters
to be assigned to us) why all their Asian cruises skip Manila when
they go to all the neighboring countries of the Philippines. Tanong ko
bakit ba wala sa itinerary ninyo ang Manila.
Ang sagot sa akin. Noong una ho may cruises kami na humihinto sa
Manila but masyadong hong matakaw ang mga taga Customs sa atin kaya
ang management ho namin nag decide na skip na ang Manila. When
inspection time comes upon our arrival and departure, yung mga Customs
inspectors ho kasama ang mga pamilya nila para kumain ng libre sa ship namin.
Tapos bago mag bigay ng clearance para maka depart ang ship namin
maraming hinihingi na sigarilyo at mga alak. Sa Manila lang namin na
experience ang ganoon kaya nahihiya ho kaming mga Pinoy dito sa ship.
Sa ibang ports sa Asia wala hong nanghihingi.
The new cruise ships have an everage of 2,000 to 3,000 passengers.
Imagine the loss of tourism revenue for the Philippines because most
cruise ships do not go to the Philippines. Pero paano mapapatino ang
mga taga Customs kung ang mga taga Malacanang, Congreso, governors,
mayors who should set good example sa government service pareho din
nila at mas malaki pa ang kurakot?
P.S.
Magtanong lang kayo sa mga “Balikbayan”. You can clear your lugggages
fast if you have ‘pasalubong’ preferably Cash (of course Dollars ….
marami daw Pesos doon kaya verde ang gusto). Maybe perfumes to some.
This is a very well written article. Thank you. Reading this truly made my day =)
Thank you Scott! Having lived all my life in the Philippines, I never had the idea that its how this bad we look to the outside world. Your article, however, more than made up to convince me that peoples/cultures could be wrong and it gives me innate pride to realize that despite all the negative media we get we still can not fail to impress visitors like you if only they’d dare to come and try our brand of hospitality.
I’ve had had my fair share of travels myself. Been to London, Toronto, Seoul, Hong Kong, Singapore but only for short stays. In these stays it never occurred to me to look at my country in the light of what the local’s impression of it but rather I’m there engrossed and mesmerized by their own cultures, appreciating it and comparing better work practices and thinking of how it can be adopted to mine. I’m not there to critique on the negative’s of their customs nor to give judgement. Each practice and ethnicity had its own peculiar way of evolving into its current form, right or wrong to our own perspective.The problem with visitors coming to our shores is that they already have preconceived ideas of how or what we are like and gets stunned and floored when they see and experience differently. Audrey is right, all this because of the power of (mis)information.
Lets take for example our conceived preponderance for violence, to journalists in particular. They say we are the most unsafe place for journalists next to Iraq. While I agree on the immensity of the issue I also strongly do not condone these killings. However, I believe, there is more underlying truth to uncover than what are generally printed and aired. My Filipino sensibility invites me to ask: Do most of these killings really politically motivated? or Do most of these journalists real or pseudo? In our free country, anything is possible. We became lousy at discerning what is beneficial to what is sensational. I admit, in our politics, the scourge of money has drained the “will” out of the politicians and government. As the culture of corruption takes hold, we Pinoys don’t took to it as much as a liability but rather we’d like to think of it as a motivator. It only means that there is much to do to clean it out of the system. This is done not by reforming the old but by educating the young. Every Pinoy knows that corruption thrives because of his propensity to demand for convenience.
But despite it all (calamities, disasters or whatever be it man-made or natural), this I can tell you, you can never a see a Filipino that is not laughing or smiling. Even if he is chest deep in flood water. It is this spirit of acceptance of his immediate circumstance that keeps him going. A free spirited Filipino who will never relinquish his place in the world stage and one who will survive millenniums to come.
Your fair warning to first time comers is much appreciated. But don’t worry it could get too crowded to soon. The warm Filipino heart has always enough room for everyone. Again thank you and more power.
“THERE ARE NO BAD CHILDREN ONLY BAD PARENTS”
If you teach the young the good stuff chances are they become better adults someday. Media has so much power of influence in the formation of one’s idea that wields an impression before an actual encounter and experience. Journalism is business too. It does’nt care what’s good or bad. The bottom line is profit. That’s why that German journalist prints what sells. (and enjoying his good life in Manila, partying at the expense of his negative reportage of the country) Why do you think there is such a phrase “Responsible Journalism” – because media anywhere in the world has become bad parents to its readers and viewers for the past decades. Media can even incite and cause war.
I would like to sincerely thank you Scott for sharing your views. I believe there are more nice things about our country and culture for you to explore and discover. but unless the pardigm of the current journalism won’t shift both here and abroad, the stigma remains.
Finally, something positive to read about my home country. Thanks, Scott.
Hi all.
I’m glad you all enjoyed reading my article and had some very interesting comments in response to it. Myself and others in the Philippines are working to change the media branding and common international perception of the Philippines by writing about the good that this country has to offer. If you’d like to read more of my articles or of other writers please visit http://tourism-philippines.com.
wow… a very good article to share among media people and to every simple person living in this world… The Philippines has lot to offer… yes, branded and iconed by those images destroys a beautiful picture of the Philippines… But there’s a saying, ‘do not judge a book by its cover…’ may this apply to the Philippines… Aside from that Mindanao has to be explored, as a Mindanaoan, our island has a beauty that can capture the hearts of its visitors… Terror is everywhere not only in Mindanao…
Cheers to this article! From a very wise point of view. Thank you for taking your share in uplifting the poor image of our wonderful country…
mr.scott allford thank you for a good and nice article about how wonderful our country we have.My teacher in economics read your article and when we hear your good expression about the philippines we are so glad that there are foreign who appreciate the beauty of the philippines. thank you so much,.,
This is a really good article. I only have one friend from the Phillipines, but if he is representative of this country then it must be a wonderful place. There is good and bad in every country in the world:why, in GB we have gun crime,knife crime,povertyand the ubiquitous cardboard dwellings of the homeless. I think to portray other cultures as worse than ours, it somehow makes us feel better or even superior to them. This is, I feel, the remnants of our colonial past.