While this is not advocating for the removal of Tagalog from the Filipino list of dialects, while I have nothing against Tagalogs in general or the language but it's time to raise the issue of Tagalog Imperialism. Just think about it the rest of the Philippines has been ruled like an empire than a republic. While it does sound crazy because the Philippines has no colonies nor has it conquered other countries as its own territory but non-Tagalog regions of the Philippines are treated like "captured territory" instead of parts of the whole Philippine Republic.
Are non-Tagalog Filipinos only second-class citizens in the Philippines?
Tagalog imperialists look down at every Filipino who's not a Tagalog not to be a Filipino. Do they even know what the word Filipino means? Filipino as a person is defined as a native or national of the Philippines. It doesn't matter which area of the Philippines you live in but if you're a citizen of the Philippines you are counted as a Filipino. But for them unless you're a Tagalog you're just a low class citizen of the Philippines or a captive of their glorious idealistic empire. For them you aren't a Filipino citizen but you're just a slave of the Tagalog Empire.
Get Real Philippines says this in its article about Imperial Manila which I really agree with in almost every way with some minor corrections made by me:
Traffic and congestion nevertheless seem to be a magnet to Filipinos, who seek jobs and opportunities for trade and commerce. Manila is where the action is. As they say – nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd. The envy of every marginalized urban wannabe across the country, its skyline is graced with majestic stately skyscrapers and the largest shopping malls in Asia, spelling out to everyone in the provinces the definition of first-world progress and development.
As the nation’s trendsetter, Manila showcases to the other regions the glamour, wealth and prestige of its fast-paced SUV-driving condo-living modern lifestyle – the essence of the Filipino dream. Like a hypnotized viewer being brainwashed by subliminally invasive advertising or campaigning on TV/mass media, deluded people in the provinces flock to the end of the rainbow with hope of a better future, making it big, and receiving a share of the city’s fortunes. The poor fill every open pore of vacant space available in the city to the brink, looking up in anticipation as they wait for some trickle of blessing to drop from Manila’s rich and tech-savvy upper class.
Filipino dysfunction in the remotest provinces beats to the rhythm of the nation’s heart – Manila’s unending supply of TV show clowns and political bozos that have struck gold generating folly for everyone to emulate. A key host of unifying noontime show Eat Bulaga says it all – “Yumaman kami ng dahil sa katarantaduhan!” And as demonstrated by Joey Marquez’s stellar “it’s more fun” career, it is in Manila where the defining lines between basketball, showbiz and politics get lost in one big chaotic circus.
Tagalog imperialism is compromising the quality of Filipino-English and the chance to learn other foreign languages
In the past, Filipinos were known to be the best English speakers in Asia. It's a competitive advantage for Filipinos because it means more non-English speaking Asians will come to the Philippines to learn English. It also means some Filipinos who want to have the experience of working abroad can see other countries and earn money at the same time. You could think how a Filipino who's an English language teacher could enjoy his or her trip to South Korea while earning money from Koreans who want to teach them English. But that's not the case today anymore. The quality of Filipino-English is dropping like crazy.
Unfortunately, Carabao English is becoming more and more common even among Filipinos who are critics the stupidity of Filipino society. They strive to correct their grammar but end up still struggling with it. I think one of the biggest problems is that local networks are dubbing everything in Tagalog. Worse, you may even have the jingle where they brag how much they hate English because it's the language of imperialism all the while they are a type of imperialists themselves. They run their Tagalog imperialism which may even demand everyone should focus on Tagalog which ruins the FIlipino-English. This is a problem because Tagalog is not the universal language. Some enlightened Filipinos may have a harder time fixing their grammar now because they haven't had enough time to learn better English as children.
Should I mention there's the need to learn other languages for business or employment reasons? I thought about it that if Mandarin and Nihonggo aren't the only languages I'd want to be made electorate I'd include Korean. South Korea is now a dominant market player thanks to the power of economic liberalization. Learning these languages would be advantageous for business. You can think how nice it would be to have Filipinos who can speak and understand languages for business reasons. But for Tagalog imperialists they may consider these languages as Imperialist languages as if their precious Tagalog isn't an Imperial language.
What's even more stupid is that some people still insist in the whole OFWs as the bagong bayani ideology while pushing the Tagalog imperialist outlook. How can OFWs even consider working properly if their English proficiency is dangerously low? It's stupid to prioritize Tagalog all the while sending Filipinos to work abroad because of a lack of jobs no thanks to economic protectionism. If they can't even learn to speak foreign languages in high paying countries then how can they get better job opportunities? They would probably be forever stuck with doing menial tasks. I don't see that as Filipinos taking over the world because it isn't.
One of the many good reasons why Marbobo Roxas lost the elections was remember what he did in Tacloban after Typhoon Yolanda? I don't think it's just limited to, "You're a Romualdez and our Mayor is an Aquino." Remember that Marbobo is born in Quezon City which is part of the cities of Imperial Manila. Some may assume that Stinky Soliman didn't prioritize moving the goods to Tacloban because they weren't Tagalogs. This kind of action would be a good reason why Marbobo deserved to lose the presidential election. Would have he discarded his Tagalog pride maybe he would have won the support of Tacloban. Instead, his Tagalog imperialism got the best of him.
I think one of the many reasons why Tagalog imperialistas are now critical of President Rodrigo R. Duterte is because he is a Bisaya and not a Tagalog. Does every president have to be a Tagalog in order to run the country properly? Just in case they don't know this anyone in the Philippines can run for office whether they are Tagalog or not. Even the current faulty 1987 Constitution allows everyone who is a natural born Filipino citizen to run even if they aren't Tagalogs. It's a good thing that President Duterte himself is supported also by Tagalogs who have opened up to the truth and oppose Tagalog imperialism. I don't agree with everything the president says or does but I'm totally with him in destroying Imperial Manila in favor of federalism.
The Imperial Manila system is one reason why the Philippines is so congested and slow. Since those Tagalog imperialists treat everyone else as second class citizens then how can the Philippines be developed as a whole? Every region of the Philippines has different problems which means that they require the locals to participate in the decision making. Instead, the whole Imperial Manila system requires everyone to conform to what the capital says without question or participation in decision making. That alone is a serious mistake in leadership when one doesn't allow any smart questions or feedback before making any important decision. The taxes paid by non-Tagalogs only benefits Imperial Manila but not the rest of the Philippines.
Free trade works but it doesn't work effectively unless there's reasonable boundaries. It won't matter much if the Philippines gets to abolish the lousy 60/40 if it's still bound to Tagalog imperialism. Foreign investors shouldn't only invest in Imperial Manila but also everywhere around the Philippines. It's not just Tagalogs who need jobs but also every other Filipino who's living outside the Imperial Tagalog territory. In order to achieve more economic outgrowth the government should shift from Tagalog unitary form of government to Fillipino decentralization or federalism to also spread the benefits of economic development.
Closing words
Any form of imperialism shouldn't be allowed. This isn't to suggest to replace Tagalog imperialism with Bisayan imperialism. No. This is all about that all Filipinos regardless of ethnic group or region will receive the benefits of an equity-based society. All Filipinos will be treated according to their needs where those who need more will receive more and those who receive less should receive less.
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