Shenanigans of Philippine Nature
When we think of the Philippines’s greatest enemy, we do not think of a single person — rather, the environment that caused it.
Many times, today and in the past, Filipinos have blamed each other — be it a party or a specific person — for becoming the biggest ‘threat’ to the country and to themselves that has ever existed in an attitude that even has a specific term: crab mentality. However, no matter how much these so-called ‘crab mentality’ drags Filipinos down, one should not forget the reason why such divisions between the Filipino people exist in the first place — geography is the Filipino’s biggest enemy.
In social studies lessons, students are taught that geography is the country’s biggest blessing. With our coordinates, the Philippines lie at a strategic position, between economic giants China to the north, and Indonesia and Australia to the south. Physically, the archipelago lies between Oceania and Southeast Asia, and Philippine seas serve as pathways between the Indian and Pacific oceans. Biologically, the Philippines is an ecological powerhouse, blessed with one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. However, these blessings do not come free, as this geographic position also presents Filipinos with the most complex issues that they as a nation face on a regular basis.
For instance, the fact that the Philippines lie in the ‘typhoon belt’ is already familiar in the minds of many Filipinos. On average, 20 typhoons strike the country every year, including five destructive ones. The warm seawaters east of the country is a perfect recipe for such a typhoon, and with the impending crisis of global warming (which is a can of worms all on its own), it is expected that these typhoons will only get stronger and deadlier.
But the natural disasters do not stop there. While yes, the country is indeed physically located on a very strategic location between Oceania and Asia, it also stands perfectly on the Pacific Ring of Fire — a term that many are also familiar with. Tectonically, the country lies between two plates (which are huge slowly-moving pieces of rock that is said to cause continental drift) — the Eurasian continental plate, and the oceanic Philippine plate. Lying on the edge of these two plates, the geologic activity going underneath these two plates subjects the country to other tragedies, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and even tsunamis, which themselves have already claimed thousands of lives.
On a positive note, these geologic activities also blessed the country with iconic views — with the Cordilleras and the Sierra Madre ranges, caves, and hills all providing tourists and residents with picturesque views. However, these ranges are a curse in disguise. The physical geography of the country has presented issues in the past — for example, the needs of many Filipinos are a pain to distribute due to the logistical problems presented by the mountains or other geologic formations. While Manila and its flat areas could have all the infrastructure due to its relatively easy access, the same infrastructure could just not be built in, say, the Cordilleras or the mountains of Caraga region. But even if such infrastructure were to be built, locals would not allow it anyway, which leads to the next point.
The physical geography also caused differences between Filipino to Filipino. If one were to look at the country’s ethnic geography, one would find many ethnic groups on the far off, unreachable corners of the country. In Southern and Central Luzon, one may find the arguably most dominant group in the Philippines — the Tagalogs. Travel to Northern Luzon, and one may find the Pangasinense, the Igorots, and the Ilocanos, all adapted to their local geography. Travel east of Southern Luzon, one may find the Bicolano. If many ethnic groups existed on just one island, what more if one travels off the coast of Luzon, where many of the islands, many of which have their own cultures, are located?
One may look at this diversity as a blessing, but it is far from the truth. Historically, these ethnic groups were not even united under one banner until the Spanish conquered it without regards to the ethnic geography of the country. The country banded together in the common interest of kicking the Spanish colonizers out, but even in this common interest there still existed differences between the interests of these ethnic groups that had just kicked out the Spanish. Historically, there had been a Republic of Negros, a Republic of Zamboanga, and other short-lived republics that existed because of these differences.
While the country is united under one banner today, the differences between these groups still exist, and is even brought up today with terms such as “Imperial Manila,” for many of these groups are marginalized. For example, the Lumad communities in Mindanao still face hardships today, and many Cordillera and Visayan groups still risk underrepresentation in the Philippine government, even though it promised equal representation to all. These differences are where well-known factional differences and even rivalries are born. Diversity would be something to be proud of if every group is on board with it.
Finally, even the strategic location of the country poses its own risk to its inhabitants. Located in such a strategically-important location, the country has traditionally attracted the eyes of outsiders — the Spanish, Americans, Japanese, and even traditional ally China — thus drawing unwanted attention to itself. Today, many outside forces still plague the country today, aiming to influence the sovereignty of the country in order to utilize the country’s key positioning, as evidenced in the increasing Chinese influence in the government, and the legacy of the American government still in the minds of many Filipinos.
Despite all these difficulties however, this is also the reason why Filipinos are proud of their geography despite their nuisances. Filipinos face these issues presented by Philippine geography daily, be it typhoons, earthquakes, and ethnic differences, and still come out united under one banner, almost unscathed. Thus, even though geography is the country’s biggest enemy, it also has brought in something else — the character of the Filipino, which is arguably one of the most unique in the world.
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