On September 24, 2025, the Literature Department, together with the History Department and UA&P Kallos, organized the first session of the lecture series “Beyond Stories: Nick Joaquin” at the PLDT Hall. The speaker, Mr. Jeremy Clemente, discussed the many notions surrounding what is and what is not “authentically Filipino.”
Today, many think that the parts of Filipino culture that have no Spanish influence are what one can call authentically Filipino, such as precolonial practices, languages, architecture, and attire. There is also the belief that half-Filipinos are not real Filipinos because they are not “pure-blooded.” Some Filipinos look at the surrounding Asian countries like China, Japan, South Korea, etc., and observe their monoethnicity as well as their most popular traits, wondering if the Philippines has anything similar to show the world. In the search for a “unique” identity untouched by foreign influences, many Filipinos tend to focus only on the parts of Philippine history that serve this narrative of what they think is “pure” Filipino.
However, Mr. Clemente pointed out that leaving out other parts of history only changes Philippine history as a whole. If one would like to dive deeper into the history of the Philippines to learn more about the Filipino identity, then one must accept all of its parts, even the ones that might not seem very “Filipino.” While criticizing the “Spanish-influenced” parts of Filipino culture, Mr. Clemente told the audience to compare them with what was Spanish–the houses in Spain, as he observed during a visit, looked nothing like the bahay na bato in the Philippines, which was already “Filipinized,” meaning it incorporated elements from the Philippines and was carefully designed for its climate. Precolonial culture and religious practices, Mr. Clemente reminded, also welcomed influences from other countries, long before the Spanish arrived. Tribes from all over the Philippines also managed to preserve their own traditional practices, attire, and language throughout the centuries.
“Our reality is that we are a multitude of cultures, and we should just accept it,” Mr. Clemente said. Comparing the Philippines to other countries and wanting to be more like its neighbors is pointless–this perspective, according to Mr. Clemente, is a result of colonial mentality, wherein “we want to anchor ourselves in something that will make us one of the great civilizations.” He told the audience that diversity must be allowed to thrive. There is nothing wrong with being racially, ethnically, or culturally mixed as long as one does not try to impose a single identity. The Philippines has always been a mix of cultures that has welcomed more changes over the centuries. Filipinos generally love welcoming others to participate in their culture, and they love getting to know others’ beliefs so that they can find a way to make them feel welcome, seen and included in the fiesta. Mr. Clemente concluded, “The moment we can accept diversity in us, [is the moment] we can stand proud and tell the world, ‘This is us, and we are proud of who we are’.”
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