Who is Carlos P. Romulo?

CARLOS P. ROMULO
- was a Filipino, statesman, journalist, soldier and
diplomat who served under eight Philippine
presidents and was the country's representative
to the United States and the United Nations.

- was born on January 14, 1898 in Intramuros,

Manila and grew up in Camiling, Tarlac.

- was the first Filipino journalist who was

awarded with the Pulitzer Prize in Journalism
and given other international awards for his
works for peace.

- was also the first Asian who served as the

president of the United Nations General
Assembly.
CARLOS P. ROMULO
- He wrote the book entitled I Saw the Fall of the Philippines,
in which he narrated his personal experiences as an aide-
de-camp to General Douglas MacArthur.
- This book was followed by a sequel, I See the Philippines
Rise, a journalistic account of the Philippine War in 1944.

- Among his other famous literary works are Mother

America: A Living Story of Democracy, a discussion of his
political ideals about American democracy in the
Philippines,
- and I Walked with Heroes, his autobiography.

- He was conferred as National Artist for Literature in 1982.

- He died on December 15, 1985.

-
ABOUT THE ESSAY
"I am a Filipino" is one of the many essays and one
of the best contributions to National Literature,
written by Carlos P. Romulo. It was published in
The Philippines Herald in August 1941.

- The essay is often chosen by students for elocution

contests and is one of the most famous nationalist
declaration in the world.
“ Who am I?” is the question that every thoughtful
person asks himself or herself.
- Romulo answers the question in the name of every
Filipino. He looks back on his ancestry and declares
that a Filipino is a hero pledges to fight until
freedom is won.
ABOUT THE ESSAY
“I am a Filipino” is one of the
valuable contributions of Carlos
P. Romulo to Philippine
literature.
Analyzing it would help one
understand what he thinks of
the Filipino and what it means
to be one.
ABOUT THE ESSAY
In the essay, the author speaks of the
pride and dignity of the Filipino race, which is
something he wants the future generation to
uphold and cultivate.
The essay also explains the Filipino
identity as a product of the fusion of
Western culture (Spanish and
American) and Eastern culture
(Japanese occupation and Malayan
roots) and that Philippines deserves to
take a proud stand in the world as seen
in the 8th paragraph.
ABOUT THE ESSAY
- It starts with a quick walk through the
history of the nation as seen in paragraph
2
- Romulo stresses that the fight for freedom
sprung up from one’s pride of being a
Filipino.
- He takes pride in the bravery and
sacrifices of the heroes who fought for
freedom like Lapu-Lapu , Diego Silang,
Jose Rizal , Gregorio del Pilar, Antonio
Luna, and Manuel L. Quezon as seen in the
5th and 6th paragraphs.
ABOUT THE ESSAY

He also emphasizes
the beauty of the
Philippines as blessed
with bountiful natural
resources and colorful
history and culture as
seen in the 3 and 4
th th

paragraphs.
 QUESTIONS TO PONDER

1. In
paragraph 1, author
refers to the two-fold
responsibility of a
Filipino. What is his
responsibility to the
past? his task in
relation to the future
 We, as Filipinos have to be
proud of our glorious
inheritance.
We have to show that we are
worthy of the freedom we have
now, that we are worthy of the
lives wasted in order to bring
this country standing still. We
should always show our love to
our country. Let us not be
blinded by power and money.
QUESTIONS TO PONDER

2. What do
you
understand by
inheritance?
 Inheritance pertains
to the legacy, tradition,
culture, history,
language and even the
natural resources that
we have now, the ones
that we inherited from
our ancestors.
QUESTIONS TO PONDER

3. In paragraph
2 what qualities
of our ancestors
did we inherit?
 The Malays came after the Indonesians, about
2,000 years ago. They also arrived in boats from
Southeast Asia.
They were medium in height, brown-skinned,
with dark eyes, flat noses and straight black hair.
They drove the Indonesians into the forests and lived
in the lowlands. The Malays were more civilized than
the Indonesians. They lived in larger villages. They
had government, writing, music, arts, and sciences.
They lived by agriculture, fishing, mining and trading.
The Filipino today come from the Malay or
brown race. Hence, there are Muslim Malays in
Mindanao, Jolo and Palawan. And there are Christian
Malays in the whole country. There are also Malay
tribes like the Igorots, Ifugaos, Bontoks and Tinggians
of Luzon.
QUESTIONS TO PONDER

4. In paragraph 3
and 4 we get a
picture of the land
we inherited.
Describe this land
in two adjectives.
The land is
rich and
happy
QUESTIONS TO PONDER

5. In paragraphs 5
and 6 what is
being mentioned
as the another
great inheritance?
Being patriotic
and nationalistic
.
QUESTIONS TO PONDER

1. What character
traits does the
East have as
mentioned in
paragraph 8?
1. Languor- weakness or weariness of
mind and body
2. Mysticism- religious practice based on
the belief that knowledge of spiritual
truth can be gained by praying or
thinking deeply.
3. Passivity- tolerance or inactivity. They
allow things to happen and accept
what other people do.
QUESTIONS TO PONDER

2. Who are
being referred
to as the Cross
and Sword and
the machine?
They are the Spaniards
and Americans who
conquered the Philippines
long time ago.
QUESTIONS TO PONDER
3. What influence
did we get from the
West? Which of
these should we
keep? Which of these
should we discard?
Being vigorous. The Spaniards brought
Christianity in the Philippines which
made a great impact on faith, education,
and government. Liberal or abundant
ideas entered the country. For the
Americans, the established a civil
government. Free public education was
introduced. English was the medium of
instruction.

Being cruel authoritative. They used their

power and resources to manipulate
people.
Who is Francisco Arcellana?
FRANCISCO ARCELLANA?
- is a Filipino teacher and a contemporary
writer. He is one of the prominent Filipino
fictionists in English.

- He is known for innovating and exploring

new literary forms and experimenting with
different techniques in short story writing.

- -He was also the first director of the

University of the Philippines Creative
Writing Center.
FRANCISCO ARCELLANA?
-Some of his well-known literary works
are the short stories "Death in a Factory,"
"A Clown Remembers," "The Mats," and
"Lina”.
- In 1990, he was awarded as the
National Artist for Literature.
- His short stories "Flowers of May,"
"Christmas Gift," and "The Mats," were
adapted as screenplays.
- He was born on September 6, 1916 and
died on August 1, 2002 due to
pneumonia
 PRE-READING ACTIVITY

Look for the unfamiliar words in

the short story and give their
meanings.
GROUP TASKS
Group 1: Accomplish the table below:
A. What I already KNOW? B. What I WANT to know? C. What I have LEARNED?

a. The Mats a. The Mats a. The Mats

_______________________ _______________________ _______________________
_______________________ _______________________ _______________________
_______________________ _______________________ _______________________
_______________________ _______________________ _______________________
_______________________ _______________________ _______________________
GROUP TASKS
Group 2: Accomplish the chart below:

Main Idea Details

Mr.
Angeles is
a lovable
father in
the family.
GROUP TASKS
Group 3: Accomplish the diagram below:
Effects
Causes

Mr. Angeles
family is
very excited
for his
homecoming
from a trip
to the South

Main Event
GROUP TASKS
Group 4: Accomplish the chart below:

Summary of the Short Story

BEGINNING

MIDDLE

END
ANSWERS
Group 2
Main Idea Details
He asked a
marvelous
weaver to weave
a sleeping mat
for every one in
the family.

He always
Mr. thought of his
young ones at
Angeles is night when he
a lovable was away from
home.
father in
the family. He still honored
and
remembered
his three dead
kids.
GROUP TASKS
Group 3: Accomplish the diagram below:
Effects
Causes

Mr.
Angeles During the
had a dinner the
Mr. Angeles children
surprise-
family was can’t wait to
sleeping
very excited see the mats.
mat for
for his
everyone.
homecoming
from a trip
to the South The
The mats
children
were
always
colorful
talked
and their Main Event about the
names
mats until
were
late at
woven into
night.
them
GROUP TASKS
Group 4 Summary of the Short Story
Mr. Angeles is coming home for his periodic inspection trip. Then he had
written in Mariveles to Nana Emilia that he has a surprise to him that he
bought mats that are made by an artistic craftsman at this area. These mats
have colorful designs with their own distinguish weaves, design, and colors. He
is excited to give it to them all.

When Mr. Angeles is giving his surprised gift to the whole family, the
siblings were very excited. And one by one, on the lighted area of the house, he
gave the mats with distinguish names and symbolism on it. There are 3
remaining mats that must be unfolded. Mr. Angeles unfold it one by one and he
speaks in a loud voice that he offers the simple mats to his 3 dead siblings
which are Josefina, Victoria, and Concepcion. Nana Emilia and Mr. Angeles
argues about this sensitive issue that they must forget already because they
are dead but Mr. Angeles is so stubborn that he emphasized that these children
must not be taken for granted. The children heard the word exploding in the
silence. They wanted to turn away and not to see the face of their father and
also when Nana Emila shivered once and twice, bowed her head, gripped
her clasped hands between her thighs

There was a total silence on the house. Then the mats were unfolded and each
name was slowly revealed. And the mats for the 3 dead siblings were described