The Effects of Colonial Mentality on the Filipino Culture.

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         Culture refers to the traits and personalities of a specific race. The Philippines is a known country for its cultures and traditions having been influenced by foreign forces. Colonial mentality crept in our minds and it runs through deep affecting our Filipino culture, practices and traditions. Before, women were generally diffident, refined and inhibited.  A girl before was not seen alone with a man, no touching not even her hands when talking to each other they were always an arm’s length apart. On the other hand, a man before had to undergo and should pass several tests before they can date a woman.And most especially, men were famous of the so called“Harana” or the old school way of courting or pursuing the heart of a woman. But with the influence of western ideas of dating and courtships, these practices are now out of the trend.

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        A different scene happens when the technologies and westernized way of living influenced the Filipinos where courting takes place through social media like chatting, video calls, or texting which cause Filipinos have colonial mentality (Anonymous, 2011).

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Bayanihan is one of the most famous Filipino culture. It is assisting one’s neighbor as a group and doing a task together to make the job easier. But those traits are gone now. Aside from the change of environment there is also a change in people’s attitudes and dispositions. This perception was influenced by the western countries to be independent and having the ability to do the things without the help of others or so called individualism. A group of sociology students had conducted a social experiment entitled “The Lost Wallet” last April 15, 2016. The said social experiment came up with a result that some of the Filipino people did not care for the owner’s feeling even though the wallet was placed in front of the subject. Indeed, Filipinos are now influenced by western culture.

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Another famous culture of the Filipinos is the “Utang na Loob” or debt of gratitude. This is where Filipinos would owe somebody who has helped them overcome trials. However, because of colonial mentality, it somehow distorts the idea of owing someone. Sometimes, individuals would prefer not to have an obligation of appreciation to somebody who they believe is lower than them. Because of colonial mentality, there are individuals who rank others according to their standards. A person with this mentality would not have any desire to owe somebody from the squatter. It also destroys the Filipino’s culture of “Pakikisama” or Harmony (Anonymous, 2008).

-AndreBlog

Colonial Mentality in the Philippines.

          The culture of contemporary individuals is a cliche ; the attachment to social media, the rise of informal conversations, the preference of anything “epic” or “awesome”, but more importantly that unjustifiable surge for independence from societal norms-traditional ones, specifically.

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This movement among individuals not only affects the United States but also countries that inhabits individuals that are desperate to release themselves from the bondage of traditionalism. Philippines, in fact, is becoming a breeding ground for foreign loving dignitaries, a breeding ground that is unsurprising for the very fact that Filipino lacks the sense of identity; while heavily accustomed to their supposed “pride”, it is country in fact ashamed of its flaws and inability to cope with other developed countries.

The emergence of pop culture does not diffuse this epidemic. It is pop culture that introduced morality: songs laden with profanity, the lifestyle of partying, the introduction of fornication, and the worst of all; disregarding family and cultural values in favor of a false doctrine-a façade that leads to one’s demise.

It is no surprise that a country like Philippines can experience such a phase with said issue, since it is a country rife with poverty and squalor. And it is also no surprise that the only escape out of the ordinary is to be extraordinary. Filipino are among a group of people that are adaptable (natural disasters, recessions, corrupt government), and by having this innate ability, the act of shedding cultural ties is as easy changing one’s clothes.

If one is trying to assess that Filipino is indeed experiencing a degrading cultural identity and mentality, one should look no further to the Filipino media culture. The Filipino media culture is marred with western cliches: attempts to impersonate famous western celebrities, emergence of contemporary western elements in motion pictures and music, and the unappealing new language called Tag-lish. It is this desperate urge of Filipinos to rid themselves of their cultural identity, that the word Filipino might indeed become synonymous with imitation and unoriginal.

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Being a Filipino and also getting a chance to grow up in the Philippines, I have experienced the Filipino lifestyle, education and the strict moral values. Though I am now living outside of the Philippines, it seems that the perks of being a Filipino means that one’s kinsmen would always be at someplace one thinks unsuited.

While it is true that Filipinos do get around in any part of the world, they do it with an utmost goal in their mind; to bring a chance of prosperity within their family’s grasp, a chance for a better life. The sad part, however, is that once Filipino leaves their homeland, they become attached to their adopted country. Filipinos then become a “foreigner”.

Colonial mentality is a mental processes largely attributed to colonized people or people with colonial history. While the Philippines is an independent country, it has a rich history of colonialism, from the Spanish to the Americans. While the effects of Spanish colonialism are etched in the Filipino language, religion and cultural values, the American culture influence on the Filipinos should also be considered.

The American culture epitomizes independence and individualism. This evolution in society is gaining a hold in many individual’s mind around the world. The American pop culture presents a lifestyle of hedonism; excess and pleasure. It was mentioned that Filipinos have the ability to adapt to any given situations and seeing the American culture as superior, Filipinos become mesmerized with it. As time progresses, the colonial mentality among them starts to emerge; they would idolize American celebrities, listen to American music, eat American foods, and would even do whatever it takes to become American-even if it means losing one’s identity.

-JR Lasado

Possible Solutions to the Traffic of the Philippines.

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          From the economical point of view, the Philippines are so far behind in terms of infrastructure. A good infrastructure can boost the productivity as well as the economy of the Philippines. 
First of all, Philippines in particular Metro Manila needs to have a proper road traffic regulation in place. The government needs to stress everyone to follow this regulations, no matter what even if they have to place harsh punishment for those violating these regulations. Introducing some sort of point system to the public. For every violation you have to pay and you will receive points. Once you reach a certain amount of points due to continuously committing road violations, you will have to give up your drivers license for a couple of months. Should this be repeated, violators need to do their drivers license again. They also need to work on the jeepneys. In some areas of Manila, they are the ones who are causing the traffic. They are just picking up pedestrians wherever they appear, causing to interrupt the traffic flow. The government needs to built proper jeepney stations on the side of the roads, so the jeepneys can just drive in, pick up their customers and most importantly not causing any traffic. Manila also needs more traffic lights with a proper software. These traffic enforcers are useless. If they are taking their breaks, no one is there on the roads to guide the vehicles, therefore causing traffic again. Instead of really thinking about the cause of traffic and how to get rid of it, the Philippines are just trying to cure the symptoms, placing dancing traffic enforcers on the streets to reduce traffic stress. Seriously? This might be fun but the traffic is still there.

-Mike Smith

        It depends on what type of analysis you perform, and what type of solution you want. The problem can be analyzed in a strategic, tactical, or operational level, with corresponding solutions providing different levels of effectiveness, as follows:

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For our traffic problems, I believe that we have problems in the strategic level. Ideal scenario is to create strategic solutions for the long-term, and implement various tactical and operational solutions as stop-gap. Strategic solutions are normally not very visible to the public, and its effect is not immediately felt. Tactical and operational solutions, on the other hand, are very visible and these are what we interpret as the "only solution" provided by our government. 
 
Tactical and operational solutions include establishing U-turns, limiting the volume of vehicles (number coding, truck ban), adjusting and controlling bus and jeepney routes, among others. I will not delve into these strategies since these are just stop-gaps and, though important, I think the question is asking for a more long-term solution.
 
In implementing strategic solutions, it is important to understand and analyze the root cause of the problem. For me, the following causes should be addressed to have an effective and efficient transportation system:
 
1. Poor urban planning. We design our transportation system (roads, mass transports, etc.) based on historical or current capacity and not based on the expected volume 10 to 20 years from now. 
 
2. Poor change management. We do not have an effective mechanism to proactively initiate changes in the system due to new developments (e.g., creation of central business district in an area). 
 
3. Ineffective regulator. I know many people who do not know how to drive but are given driving licenses. Also, franchises are not effectively monitored and controlled. 
 
4. Lack of discipline. This is not limited to the drivers and operators, but also for the commuting public. 
 
5. Graft and corruption. This hinders effective implementation of transportation system since we are using less of our already limited resources.

-Raymond Santos

Measures to Ease Traffic Congestion in the Philippines.

     According to Gilbert Felongco in an article posted on Gulf News, congestion appears to be worsening in the Philippines as wealthier Filipinos buy more vehicles and enjoy their improved spending power.

    Arsenio Balisacan, Director General of the National Economic Development Authority, said that the Philippines loses P2.4 billion (Dh204 million) per day in potential income as a result of traffic congestion problems and lost productivity.

   Also, for a minute, suppose that 30,000 vehicles pass through each of main roads every day and each vehicle is able to save one liter of fuel per day due to congestion reduction. If fuel is priced an average of P45 /L, then this is easily equivalent to savings of 1,425,000 P per day per road. For 12 roads and assuming to include only travel on weekdays, the total savings per year can be computed as P4.212 billion.

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         In response to constantly mounting criticism, however, the Philippine government said that relief is underway.  It said that the main focus of efforts is to ease traffic flow in EDSA, Metro Manila’s main thoroughfare. There is also a campaign to remove unregistered buses from city roads, and to move the terminals of provincial buses away from EDSA. The government plans to build the north and south terminal so that buses plying provincial routes do not have to take the EDSA route. 

         Based on reports, Metro Manila’s last major road rehabilitation program was implemented some 20 years ago. Various peripheral improvements in the metropolis have been implemented since then, but population growth and the commercial and economic development have also ensured that more business establishments use EDSA than ever before.

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         Compounding the road situation in Metro Manila the poor drainage system. Whenever the rains come, commuters are often trapped for long hours in traffic.  Spokespersons from the Department of Public Works and Highways said that it was doing flood mitigation plans for Metro Manila. The government targets to pave all national roads by 2015-2016.

         While total reduction of congestion is next to impossible in the Philippines, consistent and serious efforts to improve transportation infrastructure for Metro Manila including much delayed mass transport systems can translate to genuine benefits. Such benefits include increased productivity and perhaps a healthier metropolitan population who have to contend with less stress and air pollution.

          The business community in the Philippines is all for investing on transportation infrastructure to reduce congestion and lower costs associated with traffic jams. Continued procrastination over road and other infrastructure projects that should have been implemented long before will only leader to higher productivity losses.

-Flat Planet