“Mahabag kayo sa aming pagdaing at ipaghiganti ang puring nailibing” an excerpt from the poem entitled ‘Hikbi Namin’ written by Victorina Lactaw et, al. and published on El Heraldo Filipino, February of 1899 (Mactal, 1999). A line that sums up and shows how helpless women are, the same with the ‘Inang Bayan’.
With Emilio Aguinaldo’s declaration of independence, Filipinos thought that the country would finally be free from colonizers, however, the Americans have other plans (History, 2020). According to the written words on the commission to the president of the EU, the Filipino people do not desire independence, but a mere relief from intolerable abuses, which in the reality of the Filipinos, is not the case (Miranda, 1999). The Americans manipulated the country from the very beginning, saying that they wanted to help the Filipinos fight against Spain but had other underlying intentions – wanting the Philippines for themselves.
With guerillas and movements continual fight for freedom, US president McKinley proclaimed the “Benevolent Assimilation” to pacify the Filipinos (San Juan, 2015). A proclamation made to trick the Filipinos to obey and accept the US regime. Just like what the Spaniards did, utilizing Christianity as a tool to lure our ancestors in accepting them (Veneracion, Llanes, & Rodriguez, 2016). While the Americans manipulated the Filipinos’ desire for freedom to their advantage, setting out ‘equal’ governance, facilitating a new education system, promising eventual self-rule, and liberty (San Juan, 2015).
The modern Philippines is shaped by three empires: Spain, the United States, and Japan, which makes the Philippines a kind of imperial artifact (Rafael, 2018). The Philippines we have now is indeed a dynamic product of those three empires, their influences are still ingrained within the Philippine society until today. The dynamic enculturation did have advantages, starting with the languages we speak with terms which were adopted from Spain, America, and Japan, embedded with Indian Lexatives, the fiestas we celebrate, the religions we are affiliated to, all came from them – colonizers. But as every advantage comes with a disadvantage. Many of the Filipino people, especially women were abused and degraded, the Philippines was stripped of its freedom, all the resources our country had was used and exported not for the Filipinos but for the gain of the oppressors.
Women throughout history were documented based on their participation in the war where the majority of women recognized was in the first all-out war of the Philippines to Spain (Mactal, 1999). With the Philippine-American war, women have been active in nursing Filipino revolutionaries and soldiers under the Crus Roja (Red Cross) – led by Emilio Aguinaldo’s wife, Doña Hilaria Aguinaldo. The women’s sacrifices and contributions were not in vain as they were acknowledged by the revolutionaries themselves. Aside from this, women also gained freedom of the press, where they wrote in publications and expressed how the American degraded and abused women. Others became soldiers and fought together with men in warfare while other women also contributed by being spies and secretly gave information to the Filipino Revolutionaries. (Mactal, 1999)
One of the most common issues thorough out the Philippines colonization was the abuse of women. Thinking back, the pre-colonial Philippines was with respect for humanity and gender was not an issue. A study by Brett (2019) in the Cordilleras which have shown that the abuse of women, particularly rape was NON-EXISTENT. The Spanish colonial period has established a mindset of subordinating women, often manifested in submissive attitudes and a double standard of sexual conduct (Dolan, 1991). Which was then projected and idealized in Rizal’s Maria Clara, that until today, stereotypes what a Filipina should be. And then, it further went hellfire by the American occupation, where they would strip women, sexually touch them without permission, and just have it their way regardless of consent from women (Mactal, 1999).
With these being said, where was the respect our ancestors had for women went? Why did we let them degrade and corrupt our women? And more importantly, why did we, fellow Filipinos do the same? Where abuse, rape, and trafficking are rapidly increasing, with the Philippine Statistic Authority revealed that 1 in 4 Filipino women, aged 15-49, have experienced physical, emotional, or sexual violence (DOST-PCIEERD, 2019). This problem may have started centuries ago but the effects, the impact, and the mindset are still prevalent. Just as Tupac’s song say “And since we all came from a woman, Got our name from a woman and our game from a woman, I wonder why we take from our women, Why we rape our women, do we hate our women?. I think it’s time to kill for our women, Time to heal our women, be real to our women” (Shakur, 1993). Advocates, organizations, and movements are on the rise in battling against the sexist and misogynist mindset of society, however, the battle is tough and long. As decades have passed but the problem and struggle are still there.
Tracing back to the pre-colonial era, respect is a basic thing, as our ancestors themselves respect everything and everyone – from people to animals to nature. Unfortunately, the result of the Philippine colonization debunked that practice. It is indeed hard to bring back the past considering all the things and events that happened and the struggles that the Philippines have suffered through, but despite that, we cannot deny that because of those challenges, the Philippines became stronger, we as Filipinos became stronger. But then, we must not forget what we were before everything happened. We are the Philippines and we will stay as the Philippines, but better, bolder, and different from before and the respect that our ancestors had and demonstrated will always remain.
SS22 QAQC 2
November 9, 2020
References
Brett, J. (2019). Public/Private Domains: Gender Relations in the Central Cordillera. In E. D. Tolentino, Traditions and Transformations: Studies on Cordillera Indigenous Culture (pp. 189-205). Baguio City, Philippines: Cordillera Studies Center, University of the Philippines, Baguio.
Dolan, R. E. (1991). THE ROLE AND STATUS WOMEN. In R. E. Dolan, Philippines: A Country Study. Washington: Library of Congress. Retrieved from U.S. Library of Congress: http://countrystudies.us/philippines/44.htm
DOST-PCIEERD. (2019, November). 2019 18-DAY CAMPAIGN TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN. Retrieved from DOST-PCIEERD: https://pcieerd.dost.gov.ph/news/latest-news/366-2019-18-day-campaign-to-end-violence-against-women#:~:text=In%20the%20Philippines%2C%20the%20National,from%20their%20husband%20or%20partner.
History. (2020, June 10). Philippine independence declared. Retrieved from History: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/philippine-independence-declared
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Miranda, E. A. (1999). Ang Unang Komisyon sa Pilipinas Bilang Prente ng Kolonyal na Dominasyon, 1899-1900. Retrieved from Philippine Social Sciences Review, 91-118: https://journals.upd.edu.ph/index.php/pssr/article/view/2734/2556
Rafael, V. L. (2018, June). Colonial Contractions: The Making of the Modern Philippines, 1565-1946. Retrieved from Academia: https://www.academia.edu/41715926/Vicente_L_Rafael_Colonial_Contractions_The_Making_of_the_Modern_Philippines_1565_1946_Oxford_Modern_Asia
San Juan, E. (2015, February 15). Tracking the Spoors of Imperialism & Neocolonialism in the Philippines: Sketch of a Synoptic Reconnaissance. Retrieved from Portside: https://portside.org/2015-02-02/tracking-spoors-imperialism-neocolonialism-philippines-sketch-synoptic-reconnaissance
Shakur, T. (1993). Keep Ya Head Up [Recorded by T. Shakur]. United States of America.
THORNHILL, R., & PALMER, C. T. (2000). Why Men Rape. Retrieved from THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: https://www.csus.edu/indiv/m/merlinos/thornhill.html
Veneracion, J., Llanes, F., & Rodriguez, F. (2016). Pagbabagong-Anyo ng Bayan. In M. L.-A. R. Boquiren, Kasaysayang Bayan: (pp. pp. 91-104). Quezon City, Philippines: ADHIKA ng Pilipinas, Inc.
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