A Reaction Paper about the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Filipino

Some strengths and weaknesses of the Filipino people which was especially emanated during the
late 1990’s during the presidency of President Marcos which includes the time of Martial Law and during
People Power and during the end of the presidency of Marcos and the start of Cory Aquino in the position,
which some are still and transparent as of the current time and undoubtedly also shown back in the past,
includes; (1) Pakikipagkapwa-tao, (2) Family-Oriented, (3) Joy and Humor, (4) Flexibility, Adaptability and
Creativity,(5) Hardwork and Industry, (6) Faith and Religiosity, (7) Ability to Survive, (8) Extreme
Personalism, (9) Extreme Family Centered, (10) Lack of Discipline, (11) Passivity and lack of Initiative, (12)
Colonial Mentality, (13) Kanya-kanya Syndrome, and last but not the least (14) Lack of Self-analysis and
reflection. First 7 are under the strengths of the Filipino and the last 7 values are the weaknesses. This
was discussed during our Saturday class in NSTP after watching the video of the Philippines during the
time between Marcos and Aquino presidency. We (by group) are tasked to jot down the characteristics
or values of the Filipino seen in the video as a starting portion for the topic. I guessed that the video was
carefully picked for the topic because of the current situation during that time which is, it was really full
of tension, which in hypothesis may intensely and eventually show how Filipino really are under any
circumstances.

In the video, it was often showed that Filipino people possessed the characteristic of being or
working with each other to achieve a common goal –UNITY. And at the last part, which is the part that I
didn’t like the most, Filipino showed their lack of discipline –entering the office of the President, sitting in
the chair and showing unnecessary actions inside.

The topic gives me the idea of how much or how far did our values have change. The 7 values I
learned in the discussion, comparing today, I can say that this runs in the blood of the Filipino. Filipino
people are still showing unity, especially in the darkest days of their fellowmen. Filipinos are family-
centered that is why almost all type of family are extended. They are still cheerful, that even they are in
down times, they can still smile and make others smile. Also, they still possess the characteristic of being
able to adapt in a new environment. There are also Filipino people who are still hardworking though most
people say nowadays that people are being lazy due to the influence of technology. But I can say that
most of Filipino people still possess this value that is why there are Filipino who work abroad to uplift their
family status, there are students who study hard despite the poverty, there are parents who takes more
than 1 work in order to sustain their family needs. And another value which is very visible in this time are
their religiosity. Compare to the past years, lots of lots religious affiliation grows in number. Lastly but not
the least, the ability to survive. Their being ‘adaptable, flexible, creative, hardworking, faithfulness,
cheerful’ helps in their ability to survive. As of to the weaknesses, all the 7 mentioned are still practice by
Filipinos. Mostly with the youths nowadays I think is the colonial mentality value. Filipino youths are so
immune with other countries, examples, K-pop, they even love to learn their languages, sing their songs
even though they do not understand, and love imitating how they look and how they act. Another is, the
lack of discipline which I think is really hard to eliminate from the Filipino. Even though there are already
laws in front of their eyes, many still ignore.

In general, Filipino people’s strengths and weaknesses in their values may change overtime in
some manners (it can be lessen or even worst) and some may be added as a response to a new
environment. Today, I can say that their one strength became their weakness –fun-lovingness. They too
much love humor that is sometime non therapeutic to other people. Nevertheless, it is always right to
balance the strength and weakness in our values. It is inevitable to have bad habits and lifestyle but as
much as possible we must avoid to worsen it.