November is a time for holiday-themed houses, holiday movies, Undas, Bonifacio Day, and Christmas shopping however, not many people know that November is actually a special month. On October 8, 2008 Gloria Macapagal Arroyo issued Proclamation No. 1638, declaring that November as the National Consciousness Month for Punctuality and Civility as advised by the Organized Response for the Advancement of Society, Inc. (ORAS). 


Ponder on the bold and italic texts once more. Punctuality, a strict observance in keeping engagements; promptness. That is a quality not all Filipinos have. Ask a friend, "Pare what time ka darating?", he'll probably answer,"Siguro mga 8 or 9am". See? You must know what I mean right? Saying "mga" before a given time, what does that really mean? You'll get there 5 minutes late? 10 minutes late? 20 minutes late? You can arrive a minute before the hour for all I care, no sense of clarity, absolutely not punctual.  

I have a friend that scheduled a basketball game at 7pm, he told us that the schedule was 6pm just so that people wouldn't be late. What kind of people are we to have to be tricked into arriving early? It's a mentality that is clear within our culture, think about it; crowded commutes during rush hour, concerts that start 2 hours later than the given time, people rushing and pushing to get into LRT/MRT trains because everyone's late. We can't always blame traffic on our way to work or school that's a given.

Filipino time, a label that has been given to every single one of us. When I was growing up in the states, dad used to joke around what time my aunt would come, "Filipino time? or American time?" (If you were going to ask, my dad is American) I used to wonder what that meant now as an adult, I understand it completely. We need to develop a respect for time, as apart of our lives and a part of business. Think about highly developed countries, think of a characteristic they have in common. Punctuality, and a discipline to uphold that, every movement is precise and systematic, every minute is efficient and productive. If every Filipino would get this into their system a better Philippines would be over the horizon.

Lets practice this kind of mentality even if it's just for November, try waking up earlier to beat morning traffic, lets be all precise and get to where we are going on time. Lets respect time in our lives and in a business sense. Don't realize this fact before your time runs out.

This morning, I wanted to add some nationalism to my blog post. There's this question in my mind that's been plaguing me for years, "who are the Filipino?", how can you genuinely state your heritage? You might think, "Reian you douche, a Filipino is a Filipino, the food, the culture etc." but no, the thing is that we are so diverse that a load of influences blend in. We are labeled as Manny Pacquiao's hometown people. Our culture is mostly overpowered when we move to a different country. I was born here and as I was growing up was raised in the States, there were so much influence coming from there that I really get absorbed. I came back barely knowing how to speak the native tongue, cousins who were living there barely knew any Tagalog words. I'm saying all this based on experience, before you react hear me out. 



First off, nowadays there are varieties of Filipinos around the world, there are Filipino-Americans, Filipino-Japanese, Filipino-Chinese and the list goes on. As a nation growing up, we have so many cultures weaving into our own. The Malays came, the Chinese came, the Spanish ruled, the Americans liberated, the Japanese occupied, the Koreans migrated (I could name so much more). There is such a mix in our culture that we forget to realize what is genuinely Filipino. One major example is our clothes, fashion is purely what defines a person at first glance, we don't have days when girls wear yukatas to watch fireworks like in Japan other than times we were required to at school during the "Buwan ng Wika" festivals. Our everyday attire is composed of western influence, our pop culture is westernized. You rarely see the president wear a Maria Clara to the Palace, or when meeting a foreign diplomat.

Here's my gripe, when immigrating to a new country the tendency of a typical Filipino is to adapt, naturally, hence we are labeled as nice people, awesome and hardworking with alot of Filipino spirit but no cultural influence. You rarely see a Filipino restaurant in the North West Coast or Filipino Fashion trending the global market however, you see Korean movies, Japanese Fashion and Chinese Cuisine all around. The only thing we were really able to produce is, scandals, distress signals, Lea Salonga and Manny Pacquiao. With these in mind I'm missing one massive contribution that the Filipino people gave to the world, People Power; The EDSA Revolution. I do admit that is a great feat, but in my humble opinion it was something that the nation took for granted. Now, when people are tired of the administration all they do is rally hoping for a change even if it was the candidate they voted for. I'll move along and save the EDSA rant for another post.

When does nationalism spark? During a calamity or when the media covers something? I remember someone telling me, "Pare lets repack goods BAYANIHAN NA TO'!" really? bayanihan because of Ondoy? When Pepeng hit the northern part of Luzon where was that "BAYANIHAN" you spoke of? One reason our cultural influence doesn't spread is because of the mentality we have, alot of people are hypocrites. I chose not to help because I don't need to, I donated. I chose not to care because I believe it is a lost cause. 100 people repack goods while ten people donate, yup you people actually think that wrapping up things in plastic bags is helping the environment. One other reason is that Filipinos are too nice. YEAH!! TOO NICE!! When people are too nice they tend to be all submissive. When people are too nice they tend to get absorbed into other cultures hence losing their culture. That's what I think...that's why I still ask all of you, who are the Filipino?