So What If Something Or Even Someone Isn't "Purely" Filipino?

Does this picture tell you anything? You have Jollibee that's owned by a Filipino of CHINESE descent (and yes, this means that Filipinos have the right to protest against China's bullying while having Chinese friends who support their cause). The latest endorser for Jollibee is a half-Filipino, half-Australian stunning looker named Catriona Eloisa Magnayon Gray. Does that make the ad or sponsorship any less Filipino? I don't think so because for one these Filipino-Chinese businesses are still FILIPINO-OWNED and Catriona herself was rightfully crowned as Miss Philippines during her time. Is Jollibee owned by a Chinese national or a Filipino national of Chinese descent? It's still Filipino-owned even if Tony Tancaktiong is of Chinese descent yet he's a Filipino by heart. But it seems for a certain group of Filipinos -- they must adhere to their Filipino cultural and racial "purity" at all costs.

A simple study of Filipino history and anthropology will prove that most Filipinos are, in fact, a mixed-race. Also, if you remembered your Filipino history -- a lot of the early ancestors of the Filipinos have Negritos, Malaysians, and Indonesians. Try looking at most Malaysians and Indonesians -- they all look more or less like the majority of Filipinos in the Philippines! I remembered how I went to pay bills and I mistook a Malaysian tourist to be Filipino. Another time, I thought the Indonesian was Filipino and accidentally spoke Tagalog to said person. The brown skin of Filipinos is not exclusive to Filipinos -- in fact, most Asians are brown-skinned. Then you have the near 300 years of Spanish occupation, the Japanese occupation, the Commonwealth period under the U.S.A., Chinese migration, and the like that got mixed into the Filipino gene pool -- hence the modern Filipino ends up with better results than without the mixing.

Filipino culture today is not purely based or originated from the Philippines. It was because of trade routes that continued from past to present. Filipinos would learn to use vermicelli from Chinese traders. The Spanish occupation, the Japanese occupation, the American occupation, and the like have brought a lot of stuff into the Philippines that become part of modern Filipino culture. I don't really care if Filipinos started it first or not -- what I care is that they learned how to improvise it. It's like I enjoy halo-halo which was a Japanese concept given a Filipino twist. Enjoying some warm Filipino-style chicken porridge or chicken vermicelli soup during cold weather? You got the concepts from Chinese culture then they were improvised by Filipino chefs for the Filipino taste. Maybe, I should thank the Filipinos for introducing tropical dishes to its non-tropical neighbors too. The culture of exchange happens a lot, doesn't it? Innovation involves lots of research and an influx of new ideas. It wouldn't make sense to innovate if you don't get new ideas to test, modify, and to see if it works and learn from mistakes that happen along the way!

A lot of Filipino businesses are not owned by those who they deem as "Pure-Pinos". The local Filipino business environment is, in fact, almost completely dominated by Filipino-CHINESE who should still be considered Filipinos. It's so stupid to hate Filipino-Chinese all the while they go shopping at SM, eating at Jollibee, or buying medicine from Filipino-Chinese owned boutiques. PLDT, Globe, GMA-7, and EVEN ABS-CBN have some Filipino-Chinese co-owners. That's why I say that obsession with Pinoy purism is very incompatible with economic development. If all they care is who's a Pure-Pino than whoever can help Filipinos get jobs and services then it's not going to work. What's the use of the Philippines ruled by Pure-Pinos if there's no jobs and no services because they evicted all the non-Pure-Pinos out? I'd imagine the Philippines that's dirt poor in contrast to if it had jobs for its residents regardless if they came from Filipinos or foreigners. That's why I'm in for the idea of a free trade Philippines so Filipinos can learn to be competitive and have jobs without having to leave the country.

How often is it to have the bad habit of using one's Pinoy identity to enjoy one's blunder? It reminds me of how often I was told to "return home" to China if I can't stand people being late, throwing their garbage just anywhere, or being noisy during the evening. Don't tell me now that the recent Manila City Mayor namely Isko Moreno is now "anti-Filipino" because he's setting up a disciplinary revolution in where he leads? He's not because he's making Filipinos better and praiseworthy. Since when did being late or being noisy make one a true Filipino? It doesn't because Filipinos are just like every other race -- either they start making changes for the better or FAIL.