FILI PINO VALUES: NATURE, CONSTELLATION

AND CONTEXT
What are Filipino values? What is distinctly Filipino in our value system? The Filipino
value system arises from our culture or way of life, our distinctive way of becoming
human in this particular place and time. We speak of Filipino values in a fourfold sense.
1) although mankind shares universal human values, it is obvious that certain values take
on for us a distinctively Filipino flavor. The Greek ideal of moderation or meden agan,
the Roman in medio stat virtus, the Confucian and Buddhist "doctrine of the Middle",
find their Filipino equivalent in hindi labis, hindi kulang, katamtaman lamang.
2) when we speak of Filipino values, we do not mean that elements of these Filipino
values are absent in the value systems of other peoples and cultures. All people eat, talk
and sing, but they eat different foods, speak various languages and sing different
songs. Thus, we easily recognize Filipino, American, Chinese, Japanese or any other
foreign food, language or music. The difference lies in the way these elements are ranked,
combined or emphasized so that they take on a distinctively Filipino slant or cast. For
instance, in China, honesty and hard work may rank highest; Chinese and Japanese
cultures give great value to politeness and beauty; American culture to promptness and
efficiency; and Filipino culture to trust in God and family centeredness. In this sense of
value-ranking and priority of values, we can speak of dominant Filipino values.
3) universal human values in a Filipino context (historical, cultural, socio-economic,
political, moral and religious) take on a distinctive set of Filipino meanings and
motivations. This is true not only of the aims and goals, beliefs, convictions, and social
principles of the traditional value system of the lowland rural family but also
of what Fr. Horacio de la Costa, S.J. calls the Filipino "nationalistic" tradition
a)pagsasarili

d) pagkakaisa

b) pakikisama

e) pakikipagkapwa-tao

b) pagkabayani.
A Filipino value or disvalue does not exist alone, in isolation or in a vacuum. Filipino
values like
a) bahala na

d ) utang na loob

b )hiya

e) pakikisama

c) pakiusap

are clustered around core values like social acceptance, economic security, social
mobility, and are always found in a definite context or set of circumstances.
Both positive values and negative disvalues together form a characteristic constellation
in school
a) aralan at dasalan [studying and praying],
b) kuwentuhan at laruan [story telling and game],
c) inggitan at tsismisan [envying and gossiping]),
which differs from the configuration found in government offices
a) (pagkakaisa [unity] ,
b) pagkabayani [heroism],
c) intriga [intrigue],
d)palakasan [show of power],
e) sipsipan [bribery], palusot),
in business firms
a) (palabra de honor [word of honor],
b) delicadeza [finesse],
c) "commission", "kickback",
d) padulas [grease money],
e) lagay [bribe]),
in the barrio barangays
a) (paggalang [honoring],
b) pagdadamayan [comforting],
c) bayanihan [cooperation],
d)bahala na [come what may],

e) utang na loob [gratefulness],

f) hiya[shame]/pakiusap[appear],
g) palakasan [show of power]).

To change a framework of values, it may be necessary to change the constellation and

context of those negative values that hinder Filipino and Christian development.
4) we can speak of Filipino values in the sense that the historical consciousness of values
has evolved among our people. The Filipino concept of justice has evolved from
inequality to equality, and to human dignity; from the tribe, to the family, and to the
nation. Filipino consciousness of these different values varies at different periods of our
history. It is only in the last two decades that the Filipino people have become more
conscious of :
a) overpopulation and family planning,
b) environmental pollution (Kawasaki sintering plant)
c) wildlife conservation (Calauit Island),
d) the violation of human rights (Martial Law),
e) active non-violence and People Power (1986 non-violent Revolution).

FILIPINO VALUES: AMBIVALENCE AND

SPLIT-LEVEL CHRISTIANITY
Are Filipino values good or bad? The truth is that Filipino values are ambivalent in the
sense that they are a potential for good or evil, a help or hindrance to personal and
national development, depending on how they are understood, practiced or lived.
They can be used in a good or evil context,
e.g.,
a) pakikisama sa kabuktutan or sa kaunlaran.

Filipino values have both positive and negative aspects depending on the context in
which they are found. In a social system or atmosphere of extreme insecurity, the positive
qualities of the Filipino take on negative and ugly appearances.
e.g.,
a) utang na loob can lead to pakiusap, nepotism and "cronyism".
b) Pagmamay-ari ng kapangyarihan (the possession of power)
c) their abuse could lead to class distinction or the "malakas-mahina system".
d) Hiya can become pakitang tao or gaya-gaya;
e) machismo (tunay na lalake) is partly responsible for the "querida system"
f) the doble kara morality.
To show the ambivalence of Filipino values, one example will suffice. Take the well
known but ambivalent Filipino bahala na mentality. On the one hand, this Filipino
attitude could be the root of the positive value of risk taking, entrepreneurship, and social
responsibility. Prof. Jose de Mesa, in a pioneer book on the Filipino and Christian
meaning of bahala na, stresses the positive meaning of this virtue of risktaking, enterprise and joint trust in both human effort (bahala tayong lahat) and divine
Providence (bahala ang Maykapal)(7). A people's will to take chances and risks, no matter
what difficulties and problems the future entails, is necessary for a nation's growth and
destiny. Bahala na could be a genuine faith and trust in Divine Providence that also
presupposes a self-reliance (pagsasarili) that took the form of People Power in the EDSA
revolution. Bahala na was a positive and nationalistic virtue for Jose Rizal, who believed
that Filipinos could no longer rely on the Spaniards, but only on themselves and on God.
On the other hand, in the past the negative aspect of bahala na which dominated Filipino
life meant:
a) a false sense of resignation (ganyan lang ang buhay),
b) a superstitious belief or blind faith (malas/suwerte, tadhana, kapalaran),
c) escape from decision-making and social responsibility.
As such it may be the root cause of:
a) national apathy (walang pakialam)
b) collective paralysis of action (bakit pa kikilos) to solve both local and national
problems. Everything is already predetermined or fated.

Negatively, bahala na could engender a false sense of security with God as insurance or a
security blanket.
For example, if God wants Filipino families to have plenty of children (anak ay
kayamanan), God will take care of everything. Bahala na could be the cause of the
absence of national initiative and of that discipline required for national growth. When
negative bahala na prevails, nothing ever gets done. Potholed roads, uncollected garbage,
countless unsolved murders, carnaping and smuggling remain year after year. How many
have ever been arrested, convicted or jailed for wanton murder or for notorious graft and
corruption? A sense of national frustration, helplessness, and despair grips the nation and
the people no longer care. Nothing is going to happen--Bahala na, come what may.
From a Filipino perspective, what social reforms are necessary to transform bahala na
positively?
a) No society will long endure unless there is justice; that is, unless a system of reward
and punishment exists and is effective.
b) If in Philippine society lying and stealing people's money are rewarded and
truthfulness and honesty are punished, what else can one expect but a badly broken
political will for national reform?
c) The present government should therefore prioritize an effective system of universal
sanctions for those who hold power.
d) From a Christian perspective, the Christian doctrines of divine Providence, creation,
stewardship of land and property, and the conservation of our natural resources remain
the challenge and task of parents, educators, and Christian evangelizers.
Split-level Christianity or double-standard morality, the immorality and hypocrisy of
many so-called Filipino Christians, is a scandal to both Christians and non-Christians
alike. It is important to distinguish between pseudo Christianity in all its varied forms and
authentic Christianity; between bad and good Christians. We must also take into account
the ambiguity of any religious commitment, which is not something made once and for
all, but a life-long process which demands constant conversion and renewal. We must
also distinguish between Filipino actual and normative behaviour (between what is and
what ought to be).
Filipino values are not static, i.e., they are not simply what they are, but dynamic, i.e.,
they become.
From a historical perspective, the question to ask about Filipino values is:
a) Ganito kami noon: paano kayo ngayon? How are we to know towards what goal or
direction Filipino values ought to move or become?

Now that we have regained our democratic form of government once again and have
arrived at a privileged historical kairos, how do we transform Filipino values to build a
more "just and humane society" (Preamble, 1987 Constitution)? We need both external
structural and internal cultural change. It is here that the Christian faith should, in the last
analysis, point the way to the kind of values education needed for national reconstruction.