What’s up with President Noynoy Aquino doing his speeches in Tagalog? Does he want to get more “likes” on his Facebook fan page or something? This is a country where people use multiple dialects and languages and where foreign correspondents and dignitaries are present during events such as the Presidential Inauguration and the State of the Nation Address (SONA). It makes more sense for the President to deliver his speeches in English because English is basically a common denominator for everyone. It’s not like Tagalog will actually unite us as a people any time soon. It takes more than the exclusive use of one language to unify a country.
Obviously, P.Noy’s use of the Tagalog language in his speeches does not really make a difference to the way most Filipinos behave. They still go about their business of using short cuts and wreaking havoc to their surroundings. More importantly, his speeches do not really mask the fact that they actually lack substance. P.Noy seems to deliberately deliver his speeches in Tagalog just to get some more brownie points from his “you got me at hello” fans. Isn’t that a pointless exercise anyway? As far as his fans are concerned, P.Noy can just rhyme the ABC in front of everyone and he will still get the usual thunderous standing ovation.
I’m not writing this to primarily generate a debate or controversy about which lenguaje to use. I just want to state the facts or the reality as it is. The fact, as one of the headlines in the PhilSTAR.com says, is that in the Philippines, “75% of employers reject applicants with poor English.” According to the article, there was a study that “showed 75 percent of employers had turned down jobseekers with a poor command of English, and 97 percent believed those with good English were also more productive.”
Thank goodness for this report. It just highlights and validates what most of the bloggers here at AntiPinoy.com have been saying all along — that emphasizing the use of Tagalog can only harm our competitive edge here in the country and abroad even more. I wonder if P.Noy actually reads the newspapers? If he is too busy, I wish he could read even just the title of the headlines because it already says it all.
Does Noynoy want to be popular? Or does he want to be a successful leader?
If he wants to be the latter, he needs to understand that not all successful leaders use the most popular tactic to be effective. Using the Tagalog language just to maintain his top ratings in the survey will only mask his incompetence for a short time.
Unfortunately, with most Filipinos’ penchant for going with the flow without analyzing things, the use of the popular vernacular in instant text messaging systems in mobile phones and the recent craze called “jejemon” have both managed to damage Filipinos’ use of the English language further — a decline which saw a key milestone in former President, Joseph “Erap” Estrada’s administration. It is becoming more and more obvious that P.Noy and Erap have so many similarities.
As predicted in my previous blog before the election, Filipinos’ division over P.Noy just like in Erap’s time is causing some Filipinos to rethink their future in the Philippines. We are indeed seeing another wave of Filipinos leaving the country because of disillusionment.
Recently, it was reported that “24 PAGASA Specialists Lose Hope, Leave Philippines.” Next it was the pilots of flag carrier, Philippine Airlines (PAL) who resigned en masse without warning due to a pay dispute with PAL’s management.
Even more recently, it has been reported by Environment Secretary Ramon Paje that “the Mines and Geosciences Bureau has already lost 83 geologists since 2006, leaving the government with roughly 119 professionals. To quote the article:
MGB assistant director Leo Najareno considers the problem “critical” because of the relevance of geologists in the mining and urban planning sectors.
He said geologists help determine the structural safety of buildings.
Yikes! Is there anyone else left capable of ensuring that the buildings being constructed in the country are in sound condition? I dare not think about what will happen if the country experiences another earthquake that will reach magnitude 7 or even less on the Richter Scale.
I am not surprised at all that all these professionals are leaving the country though. I can understand how someone who wants to remain loyal and serve his country can easily feel disillusioned particularly when the current administration is deemed anti-intellectual. In my other previous blog, I received a comment from one of our readers who said that even during the time of the late former President Cory Aquino, anti-intellectualism supposedly hounded Aquino administrations. This was evident in her decision to close the Bataan Nuclear Power plant without further discussions. The only statement coming from P.Noy’s secretary on the same matter today is that “it is a closed issue” to the bafflement of the scientists who are concerned about the scarcity and rising cost of electricity. Even his own Energy Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras stressed that “we must consider the nuclear option very seriously. Even oil rich countries have already gone into it.” This is another classic case of P.Noy or an Aquino being easily swayed by the public’s decision just to remain popular. Just because popular sentiments have people thinking that nuclear power plants are unsafe, P.Noy already dismisses any discussion.
Our country is in a serious bind at the moment. Employers demand that their employees be more competitive and productive while most employees who are competitive and productive are leaving the country in droves. It seems that P.Noy’s “pwede na tayong mangarap uli” not necessarily stops Filipinos from dreaming of the better life in another country. In fact, it has even driven some people to set the wheels of their migration plans in motion.
What is up with P.Noy’s use of Tagalog in his speeches again? The last time a Philippine head of state insisted that we should embrace Tagalog more than English, he ended up being impeached and behind bars. Hopefully, P.Noy is a little smarter than that dude, for the sake of the Filipino people.
Get Real Philippines 
— Geosciences Bureau has already lost 83 geologists since 2006, leaving the government with roughly 119 professionals.
i never thought that ‘atlas shrugged’ scenario was possible. i’m starting to ask myself ‘why did i even come back?’
It is happening, my dear. It is happening. Let me paste here some of the articles I quoted above, anyway they are short and one is in Tagalog so it will please people like Juan Tamad…este…JUANDELACRUZ:
and this:
We should go back to Gibo’s policy recommendation on the problem of brain-drain: more funding for higher education, we should produce more Ph.Ds, more money for research, with money for research, many of our scientists will opt to stay, science interests are in research, and abroad, there is always adequate funding for research. More money should be put into research of all sorts, even in social science, Thai intellectuals and scientists are returning to the country after getting degrees abroad because they are able to continue their line of research. Intellectuals in the academe have direct pipeline in government and they provide ideas on how to solve problems besetting the country. They do research for example for problems involving traffic and transportation for the government agency, thus, there is a direct link to addressing problems with scientific solutions.
Gibo had the right policy on checking the brain drain problems besetting many third world economies. One college educated per family and this one person coming from the underclass will be able to gain knowledge to benefit his/her class. We should start talking about solutions to pressing problems. I know there are many problems and a dearth in funds, but with proper vision of governance, we should be able to prioritize policies that address problems with concrete and well-thought out solutions.
ABS-CBN could fill in its prime news programs with violent traffic accidents every night, without proper policy on dealing with traffic problems everywhere in the country, the problems will persist. Gibo should have been the president, not this idiot we have now.
Unfortunately Miriam,he didn’t won just because he was an ally of Gloria.Even though he already answered the problem of “utang na loob”,still people voted for the likes of Noynoy and Erap rather than Gordon or Gibo.
Maybe Noynoy could learn from his cousin and from other intellectual politicians like Gordon,Defensor etc.Assuming if he’s even interested in such.
@Miriam Quiamco
Most of the problems in the country like the traffic condition on the road cannot be solved by simple slogans such as “no more wang-wang.” There is a science involved to finding a solution to the economic and social problems that we have. The reason why I think P.Noy is anti-intellectual is because he did not choose the right people to find a way to solve our predicament.
Interestingly enough, in Europe, a group of scientist will get together to engage in a new scientific effort in the aim of transforming humans ability to understand and manage mutually entangled social, economic and technological systems through an Apollo-like project uniting scientists across countries in Europe. To quote:
If only we have similar endeavours in our country or our region. It is alarming to read about more intellectuals or those with expertise in the field of science and technology who are leaving in droves. P.Noy needs to priorities providing incentives to retain them before there is no one left to cater to our scientific needs. The scientists who are still in the country should be commissioned to gather together and come up with a scientific solution. Praying alone won’t help.
Wala ng masama ang paggamit ng wikang Pilipino (hindi lang tagalog) sa SONA ng Pilipinong Presidente. Kung gusto ng mga banyaga na maintindihan ito, gumawa sila ng paraan. Malalaki na sila.
Hindi rin taliwas sa pagiging intelektwal ang pag-gamit ng sariling wika. Ipinaglaban ito ng mga ninuno natin, gamitin natin ito.
“75% of employers reject applicants with poor English.” – Sigurado ako may mga di rin natatangap dahil di sila magaling sa Math. 100% yun kung math-related ang trabahong inaaplayan nila.
Ngunit totoo na madaling madala si Noynoy ng publiko. Nasa personalidad naman nya talaga ang madaling madala ng buyo-buyo kahit ng barkada.
@Gman
Thanks for your comment. I respect your preference for Tagalog but I actually prefer to use English. Part of the reason why I blog is because I want to practice my written English more. It should not make me any less Filipino though. I still like adobo and rice. I don’t hate Tagalog. I just don’t find a lot of use for it except when I’m goofing around with my friends.
If P.Noy prefers to use Tagalog in his speech, he is free to do so the way he did. The question is, why? Did the use of Tagalog unify us as a people? Did it make his speech any better? Did it hide the inconsistencies in his message? The answer is no to all of the above. I think the only thing that P.Noy accomplished in using Tagalog was to impress those who mistakenly think that the use of Tagalog makes us even prouder to be Filipino.
Pride comes in doing things and not so much in saying things. In fact, it doesn’t really matter if he used Tagalog or English as long as his speech has substance and concrete plans in it. But we all know it had nothing of consequence to any Filipino. So therefore, since the speech was totally useless, it is my opinion that it would have been better if his speech were in English because at least other Filipinos who are not fluent with Tagalog would not have been disenfranchised.
As to your assertion about the applicants who were not accepted because they were probably not good in math, I don’t think so because the article actually mentioned that employers were specifically looking for those who are proficient in English. If you click on he link and read the whole article, it will enlighten you.
Thanks a lot!
Bugok pa rin si Abnoy. Penoy Bugok… ang wangwang na issue ay pwede nyang i deligate sa mga pwedeng i implement ang galit nya sa wangwang… may PNP at MMDA…
BASTOS si ABNOY! kung meron kang foreign deligates sa INAGURATION MO… bibigyan mo ng importansya… dahil abnormal si PENOY BUGOK… NAGPAPOGI lang sya sa mga tao na mahilig manood ng telenobela… TAMA NA ANG MAMBASTOS ng foreign deligates sa pamamagitan ng pagsasalita ng lenguahe na di nila maiintindihan. Dahil ang mga bumoto sa kanya ay mga bobo o di kaya mga pagsmantalang tao, kelangan nya sa magpasikat sa WANGWANG at TONGPATS…. ABNOY… ABNOY PA RIN SI BENIGNO AQUINO DA TURD…
Pero walang laman talaga ang SONA nya.
At least we agree on that 🙂
IMO, there’s nothing wrong with using the Filipino language in his speeches. I myself am actually quite ashamed of my grasp of the Filipino language (it’s poor, for someone who was born and bred in the Philippines). In my defense, English is just that much easier to learn because of the interwebz and the frequency I use it in my daily life.
What matters is the content. Sadly, both P.Noy’s inauguration speech and first SONA didn’t have both. The only part I can remember from both of them were having goosebumps from all the bullshit he was spewing. And conking me mom on the head for being impressed with his senseless drivel.
@anatheist
You should not be ashamed of the fact that you are more comfortable with the English language. It doesn’t make you any less Filipino. You probably feel ashamed because people like JUANDELACRUZ below make it a point to make you feel bad about using English. Filipinos like JUANDELACRUZ are the ones who do not love the Philippines. JUANDELACRUZ thinks that Manila is the centre of the universe and that Filipinos who speak Tagalog are “the chosen ones” while those who prefer English are infidels. Filipinos like JUANDELACRUZ are discriminatory because Tagalog is not the only dialect other Filipinos use in the country.
Just think about it, you are more comfortable using English simply because it is useful and it makes sense to use it more. The reason is not very complicated at all. The French people for example, love their language not just because their language sounds really nice, but because their language has a deep history. In short, it is already embedded in their culture and Psyche whereas Tagalog is being shoved down every Filipinos throat for the wrong reasons. French is a descendant of Latin, the language of the Roman Empire while very little is known about the history of Tagalog. JUANDELACRUZ simply cannot force everyone to use Tagalog. It is impractical and its not going to happen. Every Filipino is free to use Tagalog like every Filipino should be free to use English.
HINDI NIYO BA ALAM NA ANG TAGALOG (OO, TAGALOG, AT HINDI ‘FILIPINO’, MAMATAY NA LANG KAYO SA INGGIT MGA CEBUANO ET AL) AY NAGIGING ISA NA SA MGA PINAKALAGANAP NA WIKA SA BUONG DAIGDIG, TINGAN MO NGA LANG ANG GOOGLE, MAY TAGALOG EDISYON NA, PERO GUSTO NIYO ITONG PIGILIN? ANO BA KAYO, MGA GAGO NGA BA TALAGA, O WALA LANG TALAGA KAYONG PAGMAMAHAL O PAG-IBIG SA SARILING ATIN. AY, NAKALIMUTAN KO, MGA TRAYDOR NGA PALA KAYONG LAHAT SA SARILI NIYONG LAHI! KAYA NAMAN PALA…
tsk, tsk… lost in translation ❓
Filipino language is indeed being used in other countries in the world — by Filipinos. Isn’t there a Filipino in almost all countries? If ever a non-Filipino (let’s say an American) does speak the Filipino language, is usually because he/she has to communicate with the Filipino people.
I think the presence of Filipino language versions of famous websites such as Google is a way of increasing the awareness of the global community that there is indeed a Filipino language.
Having a high proficiency of the English language gives you a better chance to get a good job, both here in the Philippines or in other countries which employs English in their society.
Who is to say that non-usage of a Filipino of the Filipino language makes him/her a traitor to the Filipino race? Heck, some foreign nationalities prefer to stay here in the Philippines, live with the Filipinos, tried to speak their language — but it doesn’t make them a traitor to their country of origin.
Pwede kang mag-Tagalog or mag-Filipino buong buhay mo. ‘Wag kang mag-aral ng Ingles. Panindigan mo ang tunay na pagmamahal ng isang mamamayan sa kanyang pambansang wika. Tingnan natin kung matatanggap ka sa trabaho na mataas ang sweldo sa ibang bansa tulad ng US at UK. Baka nga hindi ka pa makapasok ng kolehiyo dahil bagsak ka sa English sa sobra mo’ng pagmamahal sa pambansang wika.
hahahhaha. Cebuanos aren’t so much near jealous of being unable to speak Filipino. What’s the use? Tell me? We get better jobs and better pay, if we master the international language… that translate to better opportunities. Anyways, what’s with the attitude against Cebuanos? Just because we prefer to speak English than Filipino? I always thought that Cebuanos are multilingual, we can speak three or more languages, I believe that is our edge.
Sorry, if you are appalled that we, cebuanos are weak Filipino speakers, we should also be appalled how many of you Manileno speak terrible English.
@Bee
Rapier wit, kind sir and the best response. I love hearing these kinds of things from Visayans like you. It further proves the futility of the Filipino language as a whole and its inability to unite the people of 7,107 islands.
I wish I can speak the entire language of the islands. It would certainly promote more of a closeness since those languages those from the capital consider archaic or barbaric have just as much, if not not more history and culture than the failed Filipino language, the language of Oligarchs. If Filipinos have to be multi-lingual to attain a solidarity, why don’t they make the effort instead of lazying it up on one language that the government couldn’t even help fund to develop?
Very true! The reason why tagalog was thought as the best one to use as our nat’l language was because of the centralized government in manila. Had the government been seated in the visayas or mindanao, tagalog would never be one of the options. People of the visayas and and mindanao speak multiple languages and dialects thus understand each other. You laugh at us when we go to manila, we laugh at you also when you go our region. Being able to speak multiple languages makes it easier for us to learn foreign languages.
Amo na, basi ikaw nahisa kanamon. Te..kalot ka lang ulo mo. Asta alog ka lang bi ya mo. Mango-mango ka gid. Samui ti iodized salt dapli mo basi may tyansa ka pa mag-alam.
I think this guys called JUANDELACRUZ is trolling.Lol retard.
If he is trolling,just ignore him.
He’s done it before. I think he looked even more stupid trying to sound like he’s the voice of the Filipinos with his nationalista sentiment.
Scary part is there are more like him in Philippines who actually believes this, no trolling at all.
DUH?? hahhahhahahahahahhah! I am proud to be a traitor to my “VAGUE” race.. or whatever. Fvck Tagalog!
Edi ikaw na ang pinoy! lamunin mo ang smokey mountain, makipaglaro ka ng saksakan sa tondo, makipagbarilan ka sa mga npa at abusayaf, sumayaw ka sa gitna ng edsa habang trapik, inumin mo ang tubig ng pasig river, lumangoy ka sa laki ng mga drainage system, makipag=habulan ka sa mga holdaper sa divisoria, at wag kang matuwa kung ang pilipinas ay isa sa mga paboritong i-outsource ng mga mayayamang bansa dahil magaling daw tayo sa englisan!
Anong point mo, kung hindi tayo magaling sa Englisan, malulutas lahat ng problema na sinabi mo. . . simplistic mind, indeed. . .
funny :).. google has a pinoy translation not because they praise us but because we are a potential market… imagine those stupid pinoys who can’t even speak or understand proper english… try to watch the film idiocracy dude.. you’ll see a glimpse of the pinoy future.
Imperial Manila and Tagalog Supremacist at it’s best.
@jJuandelaCruz — CRAP!!!! English is great… and being a normal smart ass is better than being an ultra-sensitive “ultra-patriotic nut”. I’m sick of all this patriotic talk.. “ang mamatay ng dahil sa ‘yooo” .. yeah.. PWERA AKO!
First time commenter and long time reader of anti-pinoy here.
I beg to disagree with the issue of language. Sorry if my first comment was to disagree with you. ^^
Though I agree that what Pnoy’s statements are mostly blank of critical ideas, I don’t find anything wrong in delivering it in Filipino. The Filipino language is ours, albeit some words are borrowed, and it is somewhat a source of “pride” or identity. In the country where I’m at right now, their language is one of their treasures. I wish it was the same for ours. I agree that indeed, English is very important to compete globally and we should push for our people to learn the language. But I believe we shouldn’t forget about our own language and use it PROPERLY especially in national concerns. With regards to foreign dignitaries, foreign investors, etc, they should be provided translators unlike what happened in the SONA.
I know some people would disagree with Filipino being the national language. If time machines are non-fiction, I would prefer alibata.
Just my 2 cents for what it’s worth. And I hate those who murder any language, such as Jejemons and Kris Aquino.
hey polgas,
the thing is, there are other languages out there. i can’t find my ‘identity’ in the filipino language. see, i don’t have a choice, i am pinoy already whether i like it or not; wether i speak english, tagalog, bisaya, ilongo or kinaraya doesn’t change the fact that i’m pinoy. that also doesn’t mean that i’ll find ‘pride’ in some language i don’t use. my not speaking tagalog doesn’t make me less pinoy than you or anybody else.
Hi Kahlil,
Don’t get me wrong, man. I don’t think you’re less a Filipino because of preferring other languages. Sorry if my comment sounded that way. In my case, I am in a country where other languages are frowned upon and I find “identity” in speaking Filipino (and sometimes English lol). And I sincerely hope that in the future our languages (Tagalog, Bisaya, Ilocano etc) would still be alive.
Cheers
cheers 🙂 i’m not getting you wrong man. i’m just pointing out that identity doesn’t come from speaking a language, it comes from attitude; race is something else altogether.
Hi Polgas
It is ok to disagree as long as you do not use caps lock just like JUANDELACRUZ above and as long as you don’t say Filipinos who use English are traitors just like what JUANDELACRUZ is claiming. You are welcome to express your opinion as long as it is not a personal attack like the one JUANDELACRUZ left here the other day.
You said:
For me it is quite simple. It is not the fault of any Filipino who does not prefer to use Tagalog but rather, it should be blamed on the Tagalog language itself. If Tagalog was practical, useful and beautiful, more Filipinos would be using it and it would be one of our treasures. The fact is, it is not. I fail to see why “we should push for our people to learn the language” like you said. But this is not to say we should get rid of it entirely. Everyone is free to use it as long as we also recognise that there are more superior languages than Tagalog.
Cheers and welcome to AntiPinoy!
@Polgas
Its alright to disagree, usually with providing your own well formed reason. I think the aspect of the Pinoy language is always moot with the people, though fact is its utilization is very limited and it is as much a failed language. I’ve heard the arguments of people bringing up well so and so X country has that one language that united the people, it could work for the Philippines. The argument for that would be supported only if the effort was made to do so and that it is difficult to have that one language considering its lack of credibility and usefulness when compared to the other languages of the islands with their own established identity and history. Besides, in other countries the language is just a vehicle to express or show their own treasures that you speak of.
Besides Tagalog and our languages will NEVER be forgotten. I don’t know why people are so scared about when everyday we utilize it including other foreign languages we’ve learned the likes of Ilokano, Cebuano, English, etc. If anything, Oligarchs would have it their way they’d have everyone speaking exclusively in Filipino, the language of the capital and nothing else.
Hilariously the government tries to promote that one language to unify the people when we as people have shown the capability to be multi-lingual and much of that history also points to alibata as well. If anything, one identity these honchos and would be history writers never thought of is the Philippines being a multi-lingual nation that can work. I think we’ve given Filipino as much of a chance to thrive and it brought nothing more than the acceptance of mainstream lingo that further corrupted it. Otherwise everyone would be talking as precise and concise in Filipino as Corina Sanchez and wouldn’t tolerate it spoken like Francis Joseph Guevara Escudero.
hoi, JUANDELACRUZ, hindi lang ikaw ang nakatira sa pilipinas. may iba pang mga tao labas sa mga tagalog na nakatira din sa pilipinas na kagaya mo, pilipino din.
Oo, kasama na ang mandarin, french, dutch etc etc. Tagalog or English ok lang namang gamitin, wika din naman natin ang ingles eh.
He can easily provide translators to foreign audiences, creating more jobs. I prefer that he delivers speeches in English because that language is more accurate in discussing politics and policies. but the anti-intellectualism lies not in the language he uses but in the content, which, as others say, leaves much to be desired.
I am looking forward to him discussing world politics and economics with say Obama and David Cameron, embarrassing himself and the nation. Maybe this is the reason he doesn’t like to meet foreign leaders. Oprah Winfrey has more balls than him.
juan dela cruz, pakisabi sa mga kababayan nating DI Marunong magtagalog (o kaya ayaw magtagalog) na ok ang pagtatagalog ni abnuynuy sa mga speech niya. Lol.
@ the article,
Sama ninyo na rin yung mga yellow zombie na saksakan ng katangahan at mahilig sa paawa epek tulad ni abn0y.
😆
Nice way to win over Visayas, Mindanao and other parts of Luzon.
@JUANDELACRUZ
WTF is your problem? Do you even know what you’re saying here?
Kung ano-anong pinagsasabi, para ka lang si PeNoy. Napaka anti-intellectual niyo nga naman. YOUR President speaks about “uniting the country” and here goes one of his zombified supporters who insults fellow Filipinos. Cebuanos et al.??? “Inggit?” Gago ka ba? Pilipino rin yang mga yan ah!
Ano ang pinag-sasabi mong ang Tagalog “AY NAGIGING ISA NA SA MGA PINAKALAGANAP NA WIKA SA BUONG DAIGDIG”? Ulol ka ba?
Eto basahin mo – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnologue_list_of_most-spoken_languages – pakihanap na lang ang “Tagalog” diyan.
Google? http://translate.google.com/ , sana mahanap mo rin ang “Tagalog” diyan, hijo.
Mag-research ka muna bago ka mag-salita, ‘toy. Otherwise, bumalik ka na lang sa elementary (assuming na may pinag-aralan ka nga).
Supposed to be for JUANDELACRUZ…
Pasensya na po, first-ever comment ko dito sa AP. Kapikon kasi.
Amen. If only Gibo won… that mindless worm called JUANDELACRUZ would be sitting next to those lowlifes called Jejemon.
Hey fellow Gibo supporter, good to find you here. I agree, substance is more important than form, can’t the currently sitting president at least get this elementary truth?
Go back to Benign0’s post on eliminating the concept of a mixed “Filipino” language and going back to an ALL-English education. There’s a reason why English is considered the “intellectual” language. It’s also the international language. It’s what most written knowledge about many fields has been stored in. It’s the language ideas like The Seven Habits of Effective People, Blue Ocean Strategy and The Tipping Point are disseminated in. Thus, it’s the language that enables people to have self-empowering ideas… the kind of things our Filipino elite hope the masses wouldn’t know about. Hence,
Whoops, thought I had finished it.
Hence, competent English knowledge increases chances of empowerment and advancement rather than a limited, inward-looking “Filipino” language – the attempt to create which has failed miserably.
oh, i just wanna say this again:
…it’s the language that enables people to have self-empowering ideas…
amen
English is the language of International Business. The language of most Technologically advanced countries is English. It is a Global community. Globalization is the trend. We cannot do anything about it. It is the phenomena of our times…If you want to advance in knowledge: learn English…not Tagalog.
😆
Even those Filipino OFWs/Slaves speak English to their foreign SlaveMasters… 🙄
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This whole antipinoy thing urges me to leave the country more than President Noynoy Aquino himself. I can’t stand to live in a country as divided as the Philippines. With this website promulgating that divide. Apparently, you just served your purpose with flying colors, I will be living soon. Congratulation AntiPinoy for giving me so much inspiration to do so!
If you chose to leave as an alternative to doing something to better this country (like banter for charter change), you are welcome to it. But even when you’re abroad, you can still help out. Once you’ve found Antipinoy.com, the journey only starts. Have a safe trip then. 😉
… daaang
@mr. u… bye!
… one less weakling to worry about…
… take the rest of 80M gung gongs with you, will you?
… flipland will be way better off without y’all…
Bon voyage, amigo! 🙂
@ulrich – we did not cause the divide. we are simply describing it too clearly for comfort. if you think you are leaving – think again, you are not. because when you are in your new country of residence, you will see the difference between your surroundings and the homeland. the wide clean roads, the efficient law enforcement, the attention to customer service, being able to actually return clothes or goods you purchased, it’s an entire different lifestyle – then you will ask yourself – why are they able to do this – why can’t the Philippines? be ready to meet the anti-pinoy 😉
No good in keeping silent while evil is rampant. Wish you the best and bon voyage!
@ulrich
The division has long been there, held by sanctimonious crap that these politicians and celebs try to sell you. Hell its long been apparent even when you get to the street level of things, where the Filipino language has bred nothing more than a language full of colorful audacities, embellishments and dramatics. As you can see even JUANDELACRUZ needed his Filipino in ALL CAPS just to express his first ever attempt at trying to rile up emotions in people.
I’ll give one tip to you sir; devote yourself into something constructive for a community that needs it. Volunteering and being active in teaching people with potential to want to become knowledgeable. I know the generation of my father and uncles and a some others are already damned but I’m not about to let the yellow bloodsuckers and their kin work their magic in full. But if you have to leave in order to do what I have mentioned as well, then godspeed to you as well.
@Mr. Ulrich
Auf Wiedersehen! Even when you leave, the problems in this country will remain the same.
http://themen.t-online.de/news/philippinen
Why not try to visit those living in the cemeteries before you leave so as a kind of something to remember from the Philippines?
Dosvidaniya! Don’t get any slime from the mindless on ya!
@mr.ulrich
Don’t give AntiPinoy.com too much credit for your decision to leave the country. At the end of the day, you still need to use your own brain in whatever road you take. Your comment sounds like you are about to jump off a cliff just because we told you to. Your decision to go abroad is entirely your own. No one is forcing you to go.
What we write here are our own observations based on statements made by P.Noy himself, his secretaries, the rest of the media and et al. The fact that you are deciding to go means that you somehow have the foresight to see into the bleak future and is taking matters into your own hand. Unfortunately, there is Pinoy blood running through your veins and naturally you want someone to blame for your own perceived feelings of failure for having been forced to leave your native land. Now you want everyone to think that it is all AntiPinoy’s fault even if it is not.
Get a grip. Take it or leave it.
You know where to find us if you have a change of heart.
Adios!
AP also convinced me to really be serious in leaving this country (that is, focus on my immigration requirements), not because AP promoted divisiveness (which they never did) but because AP made me realize that I will never move forward in the Philippines fast in this lifetime with the current political and economic situation and the constitution.
Early this year, GMA promoted a project that introduced improvement of my profession. My group and I banked on the said project; we tried to improve it to help those who are unemployed/underemployed in our profession. The project slowed down our desire to follow our colleagues abroad. But BSA never made clear pronouncements on the situation (continuity) of this newly introduced paradigm-shifting endeavor. There is a growing fear among my group members that on the next budget season, BSA might erase his support (since it’s GMA’s initiative), thereby, adding many of us in the unemployed statistics. So, these days, I have been convincing my lot to start packing their bags if they really want to improve their lives. The strategies we employed in our project now are geared towards leaving this country, just in case BSA will fail us.
An important issue in AP really pushed my group to prepare our possible au revoir: Charter Change. If we can just erase that protectionist provision many APians made us realize, we will be able to bring in foreign investors for our health service project. If not, then everything will be worthless, except for those Filipinos who just wanted freebies all the time from licensed health professionals like us…
Noynoy Aquino, can talk or deliver his speeches in any language: Tagalog, Chinese, Kapangpangan, English, etc…It does not matter to me. What matter is: (1) if there is a substance in his speeches. (2) if his speeches make sense. and (3) if he understands and knows, what he is talking about.
Speeches are easy to make. Just hire good, or not so good (like his case) Speechwriters. They can project an illusion of prosperity for the country. Action is what you , I and the next Blogger is looking for.
Too much speeches already, from Politicians. No concrete results, to solve our pressing problems. I, myself, is tired of listening to these speeches.
If Noynoy Aquino is anti- intellectual. It is his problem…If he envies other people, because, they are more knowledgeable than him. Then, it is his fault. His parent, with all their wealth; could had sent him to study in the best Universities in any advanced country in the World. Yet, he is “Tamad”, to do so. “Tamad” as a Legislator; “dahil Tamad” siya as a Student. We reallly deserve what we got. A truly Filipino “Juan Tamad” goes to Malacanang Palace. He went first to Congress; then to the Senate; now he is in Malacanang Palace. Paired with a Publicity Seeking Whore-Sister, Kris Aquino. This is worse thing than “Typhoon Ondoy” , the Philippines can have. It is a tragic/comic Melodrama, playing in Real Life situation…What the heck… 😯
… daaang
… nakupo, mga flips!… ay sus ginoo… heto naman tayo about TANGALOG ispoklong…
… flip heavily accented inles hurst my ears and my flip prayd…. hoy bisdakin na lang ninyo…
… flips speak the “parrot inles”… memorization kuta-kutakot without understanding/comprehending the meaning of the words/phrases…
… sinong lolokohin ninyo, mga gung gongs…
… mga flips sa ‘merka aka fliplams could not speak a straight inles… por hebens seyk…
… flips/asian do not occupy high vis position bekos of their inles… BULOK!
… flips/asian, armed with ferpeckt country clubbed englitzched, do all the work, nothing else…
… maybe the flipflams who grew up in ‘merka have decent inles accent… but the ‘bakwet flips… hay naku…
PNoy is not confident delivering speech before public either in English or Pilipino language. He has difficulties in articulation which involves tongue, jaws and lips movements. A good speaker articulates with visible facial intrinsic muscle contractions. He speaks unsteadily, producing unnecessary ahs and ssshh. I am not informed if he is wearing dentures that makes his articulation difficult. A malfunction of his 12th cranial nerve, which makes the tongue a mobile organ, could also be the cause of his insecurities in his manner of articulation.
I think that PNoy prefer to use Pilipino simply because it is easier for him and it makes him appear confident in speaking before the public. Personally, I miss the Past President Gloria Arroyo who delivered her speeches in straight English and Pilipino with confidence, which assured me that she had everything under control.
A nervous President like PNoy makes me worry about the fate of this country.
You’re not the only one who wants CGMA back in office as PGMA.
Mel, I like your new avatar, I am considering changing mine to Katherine Zeta Jones, what do you think? I am beginning to think N/A is a waste of brain cells to dwell on. . .
I’m keeping my AC2 Assassins avatar… What with all those Templar in this country. The Oligarchs, the yellow members of the CBCP, the Manalists… One needs only a pair of Hidden Blades to show those Templar that they can’t have every single person in this country.
Pardon the Assassin’s Creed reference.
On second thought, might as well keep the J-lo one in case the Prancing Stallion could still be persuaded to change his mind about Olivia. LoL
just to get on the discussion on avatars, i picked up toshiro mifune’s sanjuro character because he had this line on yojimbo: ”I hate pathetic people. I’ll have to kill you.” 🙂
@Kahlil
I’ve seen most of the films by akira kurosawa in which toshiro mifune was in. He’s a cool dude. I noticed your avatar from the start of this thread but I kept getting distracted by JUANDELACRUZ type rants in this blog – cool 🙂
Thanks, Miriam!
Hope to enlighten PNoy when he reads AP 😀
Brainstorming is on-going on Solar Contest, kindly join us. Share your bright ideas, please!
That with Prancing Stallion about Olivia, I think he took too much of those blue tablets!
I think to sum it up, besides the fact Noynoy’s SONA was completely worthless, expressing it in Filipino, a language only known best for inciting and playing emotions on the already emo-riddled masses completely makes it all seem anti-intellectual. Though if he had spoken it in English, the flaws would have been more apparent considering the precise nature of that language when it comes to politics.
But even better is after that, nobody can precisely remember in Filipino the point of Noynoy’s SONA.
OK guys.. correct me if I’m wrong did JUANDELACRUZ just said: “Anyway, like I was sayin’, shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey’s uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There’s pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that’s about it. ” in Tagalog????
please don’t insult Bubba Blue please…
Unibersidad ng Pilipinas….wow, so Pilipino and so Tagalog. If our hardcore, patriotic and emotional countrymen are so into promoting Tagalog, heck, let’s go ahead and use Tagalog letters and change the names of the following:
Ateneyo ng Maynila
Lasal Unibersidad
Par Istern Unibersidad …..or…..Malayong Esteng Unibersidad
Rohas Bulebard
Tap Abenyu
Keson Tulay
Araneta Kolisiyum
Ninoy Akino Internasyonal Erport
Espanya Bulebard
Pilipin Erlayns
Sebu Pasipic
Ilokos Norte
Negros Oksidental
Sige, putang ina, ba’t hindi pa natin tuluyang babuyin at gawing talagang Tagalog para maging united at proud ang mga pilipino? At dami pang arte arte…..o, ito pa….
Metropolitan Tiyeter (say niyo?)
Koltural Senter op da Pilipins
Siti of San Pernando, La Unyon
Sambowanga
Puwerto Prinsesa
Korehidor
ANO BA TALAGANG SPELLING NG MALACANANG?
malacanan? malacanang? malakanyang? Putang inang, sa TV, nakasulat Malacanan….tapos sa newspapers, Malacanang.
Tagalog lang eh ang gulo na! Our official national language definitely explains our lack of unity, intelligence and economic achievement.
C’est ça!
If something is being shoved down your throat, your gag reflex usually helps to protect you from choking.
The reason why we cannot be united as a people is because there is an emotional group of people in power and they are forcing their own mediocre mentality on the entire population. Those whose gag reflex is still functioning properly are able to throw up, take matters into their own hands and survive. Those who swallow everything (read: those who don’t use their brain) will end up like zombies walking around town without any sense of purpose but to say yes to these emos.
Since our population officially reached 100M, there will be more hungry mouths who will gladly eat what the emos are giving. The most obvious solution is to curb population growth and educate as many people as possible. As long as the entire Philippine population cannot practice true democracy, our country will never move forward. The recent election has proven that Filipinos are not free to vote for whom they believe in. Religious leaders dictate to their flock and the mainstream media works for the oligarchy in power plus padrino system still rules the land. We need to help stop this mind conditioning as much as we can.
You’re doing a Mar Roxas here… hehehehe
… daaang
@ryan b… “Tagalog lang eh ang gulo na! Our official national language definitely explains our lack of unity, intelligence and economic achievement…. puro kayo anti tangalogs… allah eh di bisdakin ninyo… nobody is stopping ya’ll to speak your own dialects…
… wake up… lookit da flipflams aka ‘merkan wannabes aka ferpekct inles spoklong in fliptowns, ‘merka… they do not associate themselves with one another… it’s pure regionalism…
… what does it tell you? FLIPS/FLIPFKLAMS are bunch of gung gongs…
People should realize what English and Tagalog/Filipino are useful for. The Filipino can be good at both, or with any other language, as long as he is willing to learn and practice it properly and to use it in the right situations.
English is a precise technical language because it has been able to receive/accept/absorb/incorporate/assimilate/integrate (choose the word with the appropriate meaning) so many foreign words with their own precise meanings into its own flexible yet precise structure. English can also be a romantic and mystical language that can provoke multiple emotional and intellectual innuendoes and connotations when crafted by a skilled wordsmith whose message can be heard or seen by an audience educated enough to understand the various nuances.
Thus English is the best language for nation-building, setting up structures, laws, and policies.
E papaano naman ang Filipino/Pilipino/Tagalog? Masasabi nating ito ay isang wika na madaling gamitin sa pangkaraniwang gawaing pang-araw-araw. Malakas ang damdamin na karga ng Filipino kung kaya ito’y madalas gamitin upang ipahiwatig ang tunay na nararamdaman ng isang tao sa kanyang kapwa kanayon. Madali rin magbagong-anyo ang Filipino (“mutate”) kapag ito ay ginagamit ng iba’t-ibang grupo o tribo base kanilang pangangailangan. Kailangan ng mga Filipino ang wikang Filipino upang magbuo ng isang komunidad na buhay at nakikipagtalakayan sa mga bahagi nito.
Filipino is useful for raising community consciousness, developing consensus, mustering a strong spirit, and sharing values among the members of Pinoy society. Each language has its strengths and weaknesses.
Mabuti nga na sanay ang mga Filipino sa iba’t-ibang wika kaya sanay ang mga Pinoy na makihalobilo sa iba’t-ibang kultura sa buong mundo.
The correct argument is not whether to use English versus Filipino exclusively but to embrace both and to each each one whenever appropriate. One should not use one language to try to hide or camouflage one’s lack of strong arguments or supporting ideas during an intellectual discussion and public presentation of national government strategies, such as what “N/A P-Noy” did during his SONA.
Alalahanin natin ang dating binigay na SONA ni PGMA. Nag-Filipino din naman sya, pero hindi nya sinobrahan ito at ginamit lang para mas madaling maintindihan ang mga balakin nya at makahikayat ng suporta mula sa madla. Hindi nya ginamit ang Filipino upang takpan ang mga kahinaan ng mga argumento nya sapagkat wala naman siyang sinama na mahihinang argumento sa kanyang talumpati.
That’s where N/A P-Noy’s SONA speech failed: it contains so many weak, facetious, and fallacious arguments. He could be shot down by the many weak points he raised that he reveals himself as a shallow and inconsequential presenter of ideas — ideas that he himself chose to include and waste precious time on.
Ay naku! Ala e, bobo lang at ignorante ang gumagawa nya-an! Parang pinalaki siya na maging tanga!
[i]The correct argument is not whether to use English versus Filipino exclusively but to embrace both and to each each one whenever appropriate[/i]
This sums up what I want to say to every zombie who still insist that not using Tagalog is tantamount to being unpatriotic.
Hola, TechScallop & bokyo : agree wholeheartedly with you both! I had wanted to react immediately to some of the foregoing entries here, primarily to ilda’s ( tho’ for the most part i do agree with her too), but i thought i’d wait a while to see what others’ thoughtful contributions might be. thanks for saving me the effort of having to “hunt-&-peck” my way to crafting a coherent response. To us Filipinos the choice of, or preference for, either English or “Pilipino” as venues of communications & of intellectual discourse should not be mutually exclusive. As TechScallop wrote, we can learn and “practice it [the language] properly and to use it in the right ( i would say, appropriate) situations” (and for the right purposes, if i may add again).
I submit, though, that there seems to be some underlying confusion between Tagalog and “Pilipino”. As everyone would probably recall, Tagalog is a major Phil.dialect, and is the base for “Pilipino, the official language” of the Filipino [people] ( these spellings are just my personal preferences as far as terms are concerned, but i think you can see the usefulness behind them). Words & terms from the other dialects like Bisaya’ , Ilonggo, Ilocano are incorporated, along with many borrowings from foreign languages, primarily Spanish. Therefore, there would be significant differences in translation / transliterations for the terms in Ryan Bosco’s rather hilarious “treatise” (see above). To wit :
( oops, ran out of space ; pls see next comment box )
(Reaction to TechScallop, et.al., continued):To wit :
University…..Unibersidad (Pil., from Spanish)….Pamantasan (Tagalog, root: “:pantas”- “scholar”)
College……..Kolehiyo (Pil., from Sp.)……………………….Dalubhasaan ( Tag., root : “dalubhasa”- “expert”)
Coll. of Arts & Sciences…….Kolehiyo ng Artes at Siyensia…..Dalubhasaan ng Sining at Agham
City of Manila…… Siyudad ng Maynila……………………Lungsod ng Maynila
Cultural Ctr, of the Phil……….Sentrong Pangkultura ng Pil…….Sentrong Pangkalinangan ng Pilipinas
( root : “linang” —- “create”)
Theater ………………..Teatro (Sp.)………………………………..Dulaan( root : “dula’ ” —“drama play”)
Airport……………. Paliparan ( same term in Pilipino as in Tagalog,; root : “lipad”)
Far East……………..Dulong Silangan ( Pil. & Tag.)……….Malayong Silangan (transliteration)
Avenue …………….Abenida (Pil., from Sp.) —same term in Tagalog, as the base dialect does not use
the transliteration “malawak na daan” as in Bahasa Malay : “jalan raya” — great road/path
Boulevard….. “Bulebard”( pidgin), as the word is orig. French, borrowed by English; no Tag equiv.
By their very nature, the proper names Bosco enumerates should not even be “pilipinized” , but
rather spoken & written as they are.
Salamat sa inyong pagtangkilik at pagunawa sa mahaba-habang pahayag na ito.
And has it? Dude, Filipino has been around for close to a century and from its small, beginnings then to now what we currently have. Especially the mustering strong spirit. If you are trying to refer to the double edged sword Pinoy values that must be learned, I for one would rather trash that and have them learn real values like teamwork, initiative and critical thinking. Because what have those mostly raised on Pinoy values become? At least the discussion of why the Philippine culture and itself is BROKEN. If anything, Filipino has shown anything but weaknesses unless when it comes to communicating emotionally charged statements. Many have tried to defend its lack of development due to the government end of it but that is not much of a reason more than it is one of causes why it is completely lacking as a language, even that of one suppose to unify a nation of islands. Not completely knocking on the language but it is what it is.
Which is really funny because not everyone knows alibata, yet it has more to do with the culture and history of the country than Filipino. All the languages (not dialects) of the islands have more history and culture combined than the manufactured language known as Filipino. And that even the basis of what Filipino has borrowed from the native languages all has Austronesian origins.
tagalog has never united the nation, as a non-tagalog speaker i only see its forced implementation as a threat, i see manila not as the beacon of unification but the seat of yet another foreign occupation. The capital has compromised the celebration of its people’s diversity for false unity and false patriotism. Wake up!
Attention JUANDELACRUZ! Please read the above comment, pronto!
… daaang
… heto pa ang isang makitid ang utak… (translation for non-tangalog speaker… mga gung gongs…)
… again.,…and again… FLIPTOWNS, USA… flipflams aka ‘merkan wannabees aka ferpect englitzched spoklong flips are NOT i repeat NOT united… everybody have their own little orgs… it’s REGIONALISM at its best…
… what does it telly’all?
… ha naku, flips puro gung gongs….
Obviously, P.noy is not out there to unite the country..
Well, he actually thinks that everyone loves him. He thinks that he is serving as an inspiration with his false humility B.S. He keeps forgetting that even if it was declared that the recent election resulted in a majority vote for P.Noy, a lot of people still believe that the election was rigged. Not to mention that some folks were given money or intimidated into voting for candidates they really didn’t believe in. So therefore, P.Noy should really get his act together and try to be more open-minded because those who did not believe in him from the beginning or those who only had luke warm feelings for him are on to him.
The truth is INTELLECTUAL and PNOY cannot be said on the same breath.
It is not uncommon for official speeches to be delivered in the native tongue. In Indonesia for example, government people use Bahasa to communicate with the people. When I used to attend our project meeting with Indosat, the meeting was conducted in Bahasa even as there were expats present. The same is true in Cambodia where when you attend a meeting attended by government people, the language used is Khmer. The difference though is each participant is given a wireless headset where you can hear the translation in real time. Its the same in Japan, China, Russia, etc..
It is certainly PNOY’s prerogative to use our mother tongue in delivering his meaningless speeches, possible for the shallow reason of wanting to project a humble, common tao kind of image. Does this help unite us? Certainly not.
Having a good command of the king’s language is not the end all, be all kind of stuff. Most the Asian tiger economies such as China, Japan and Korea are not English speaking countries. But they have attained first world status.
It is good to be good in English but that does’nt easily translate to intellectualism and success. We are said the be the second largest anglophone in terms of population but where are we now in terms of economic development?
America is not great because of English. So is Britain, Australia and Canada. They became economic powers mainly because of TECHNOLOGY.
I think the debate which language to use has to stop. We need to learn both. Filipino cannot be used all the time because it is a shallow language. Unlike Bahasa or Khmer or ever Thai, the vocabularies in Filipino are just limited. There is not enough words. We say “telepono” for telephone which is a borrowed Spanish word. In Khmer, they say “Turo Sap”. In Sweden, I saw how chemistry is being taught in Swedish. We cannot do that in here. Our national language is just not that rich.
Is Aqiuno’s use of Tagalog in his speech anti-intellectual? I say not really.
The fact is by merely being himself, he is anti-intellectual personified.
Hi Redd
Thanks for your comment and for sharing your experience at work overseas. It does validate the point that I am trying to make – that P.Noy is not an intellectual, is anti-intellectual and possibly driving intellectuals off the country.
Why is P.Noy not an intellectual? It is evident in what you said here:
If he were as intelligent as you, he would realize the above himself.
Why is P.Noy anti-intellectual? It is in what you said here:
If he is deliberately using it for the above reasons, then he is being anti-intellectual because as you said it is a “shallow language.” And he is driving intellectuals off the country because intellectuals can see that P.Noy prioritizes non-intellectual pursuits more than anything else just to be popular.
I don’t think the debate about which language Filipinos should use needs to stop because it is obvious that there are still a lot of Filipinos who think that using English is unpatriotic. You and I know the advantage of using English but there is a good majority who don’t.
You also said:
Then you have to agree that it is in the culture itself, which is embedded in other society’s language just like what I said about the French language.
Hello Ilda
We certainly are in agreement that PNOY is not an intellectual. In fact, I strongly believe that he is the most dim-witted Filipino president so far. I said so far for the obvious reason that the FIlipino electorate can and will repeat the same mistake again in the future.
Citizens, both well-meaning Intellectuals and otherwise have been turned off by PNOY long before he became president. He does not even have to open his mouth for me to know that he is lacking in intellect.
Whether PNOY speaks in FIlipino or English, it does not make a difference for me. In both medium, he has not made sense at all. Thus, it is irrelevant what language he use in conveying his so- called message.
I will also note that having an intelligent and pro-intellect president does not automatically translate to economic progress. We had three three bar topnotcher presidents, namely: Roxas, D. Macapagal and Marcos. We still cannot get it right.
Intellect and culture are not enough to make us an economic power. Like I said in my previous comments, we need strong leadership. Not popular, nor pleasant but strong, no non sense leadership.
Not to defend Marcos but he set a lot of interesting programs, not excluding the debatable nuclear powerplant which Cory promptly shut down. Coincidentally, PGMA also had ready to set up projects such as the clark air base turned into a huge metropolitan airport by 2016 and the rice ordeal you’ve seen but Noynoy shut those down as well. Marcos also had made heavy contributions in infrastructure which is still being utilized by our people today.
Now that last statement doesn’t prove anything that I’m pro Marcos, except for those too dense to read between the lines. However NO PRESIDENT AFTERWARDS except for few tried to make projects that exceeded his contributions in terms of infrastructure. What did Cory get done? THe revival of ABS-CBN and coincidentally local food packing corporations which odd enough benefited her close yet powerful oligarch friends.
Unless these powerful and influential Oligarchs want to turn to a strong, efficient leader, I don’t we are really going to get one. They themselves are the pillars of society, and by default considering their power was bestowed upon the centuries ago.
Intelligence DOES matter. It breeds common sense, wisdom, the proper authority and above all a sense of what is efficient. If that was already the case, we wouldn’t be talking about that as an issue in this country now, would we?
I couldn’t have said it better Jay. Boy, you really make life easier for me around here.
5 stars!
Don’t you think you’ve got a little too far from comparing President “Noy noy” and President “Erap”? It’s like judging the book by it’s cover, give it a break, it’s only the start of his term. And is there a really good chance that there will be any difference delivering the sona in English? “Does it really make a difference to the way most Filipinos behave?” WE are Filipino, WE are in the country we call Philippines, WE called it our own, so why do you want to use English to communicate to all the people of the country whose main and widely use native language is Tagalog? Is President Noy noy not intellectual as you say? Or is he more smarter and intellectual than you?! YES, he is.
And yes we have a lot of intellectual minds in our country, but very few can get the job, is it that we produce many university level students? Do you know how to run the country? HAH! I think not, with your incompetence.
Think before you speak.
That was the point?
Uh, the Spanish named the country Philippines after King Phillip. Get your facts straight. The indios NEVER named the country as a whole anything.
LOL typical mainland manila resident response. Last I checked only Filipino is used predominantly in Metro Manila and the sourthern/middle parts of Luzon. Go check up on the Cebu, Northern Luzon and the Mindanao regions and tell me if that language you claim is indeed predominant there.
Wow, what an a$$pull and with nothing to prove it with. Meanwhile there is more evidence that proves President Noynoy is completely unintellectual. even below you kind poster.
University level graduates != intellectual. Tell me when these grads actually contribute to the advancement of research and developments for local science and tech. Or past grads for that matter. LOL, big fat goose egg for you!
Oh and since we are online, we don’t speak. We TYPE. Maybe you should strongly take your own advice instead. I sure don’t want your incurable disease of stupidity, which you were probably infected from the source.
As usual, excellent rebuttals Jay
@none of your business
Please follow your own advice and “think before you speak” or as Jay kindly pointed out: think before you type!
It would have made a difference if you tried to understand the point of the article instead of letting your emotions rule your better judgment. Please read it again together with the comments of our readers who live in other provinces. Here are the parts that you failed to comprehend:
and here’s what Bee had to say about Tagalog, she is from Cebu so Tagalog is pretty much useless for her:
You have to admit, there’s a lot to be said about Filipinos who keep insisting on the superiority of Tagalog.
‘Fraid you got it wrong in a sense. Remember “Filipino” and “Philippines” are from King Philip of Spain. We never called ourselves that, they did. But that’s still OK. As Lourd De Veyra said in his most recent Word of the Lourd (a lesson on “wika”), we cannot erase Spanish influences from our culture, so we must embrace it, same with other cultures. So let’s embrace English as well.
Because, it like Spanish, was used as a major building block for our nation. Foreign languages are used because by themselves “Filipinos” will never agree on a united language to use. And Tagalog… is an effect of the imperialism of Manila. I’m a Manila boy, but I understand this centralized government’s ethnocentric policy of using Tagalog. It symbolized that it doesn’t care about the outer fringes, like Mindanao and Sulu. Hence, I agree with using English because it is a more effective uniting language, because it has no tribal affiliation within our country.
Erasing foreign influences from our culture is so 10,000 B.C. We might as well wear loincloths and hunt mammoths today.
blind zombie. Lol.
Noynoy critic: Pnoy sucks!
Noynoy fantard: magpresidente kasi kayo.
Lol. Start of his term pa nga lang, pero tinalo sa si Erap sa kapalpakan.
First of all, I take side on Redd’s comment that country that uses its mother tongue can still prosper. This is true and that’s because the countries he cited have continuously used and improved their native language.
I’m a middle-class Filipino and I’m working overseas in a firm that employs a good number of our fellow Filipinos. Our kababyans here have good careers and are obviously intelligent but simple. When we talk to each other, we regularly speak in Tagalog — and that’s in spite of some of us being from different regions in the Philippines. It’s just so awkward that we would speak in English, because it would only sound unnatural and inappropriate.
I didn’t totally like PNoy. In fact, I prefered another candidate during the elections. But now, he’s the president, and I’m putting my hopes (albeit not blindly) on his leadership.
In Ilda’s article, it’s just so crappy to say that Noynoy Aquino is anti-intellectual for the reason he delivered the SONA mostly in Tagalog. In fact, I find the use of our main language much more far-reaching than English among Filipinos. So what if there are a hundred or so foreigners who listened to Aquino’s speech, when there are millions of our countrymen (who, by the way, are the real stakeholders) who are more comfortable listening to Tagalog? And in the first place, the event is called a State of the NATION Address — not a State of the Intellectuals and Foreigners Address. Why should he speak in English when the president is addressing every Filipino? If you consider yourself an intellectual, I don’t think you would have a hard time understanding Tagalog. But would he have given a good appeal to the ordinary masses — the jeepney drivers, the tinderas in the local market, and the likes — if he spoke in English?
A few important points about the things said on the article:
– “I’m not writing this to primarily generate a debate or controversy about which lenguaje to use” – This is a truckload of bull. Your first paragraph is all about lenguaje. Right?
– “What’s up with President Noynoy Aquino doing his speeches in Tagalog? Does he want to get more “likes” on his Facebook fan page or something?” — Again, there’s nothing wrong in the use of the Tagalog language. It’s actually a positive thing. And besides, what’s the issue with trying to be popular and trying get more “likes” on Facebook? Is reaching out to more people a terrible thing? I don’t think so. What would really matter is his actual service as a leader, and that’s something that remains to be seen.
– “More importantly, his speeches do not really mask the fact that they actually lack substance” – This should have been expanded by the author by citing her own expectations of what is substantial and what is not. By that, the article would’ve been a bit more intellectual and relevant.
– “Using the Tagalog language just to maintain his top ratings in the survey will only mask his incompetence for a short time” –In the way you delivered your writing, you’re practically saying that if a national leader is speaking in Tagalog to be popular, he’s just masking his incompetence. Can’t anyone use Tagalog, be popular and, at the same time, be competent? If PNoy is another nincompoop like Estrada, it will show in time, anyway.
Generally, the article is simply snobbish, cynical, and just an exercise of masturbating one’s intellectual vanity. A SONA in Tagalog is unintellectual? English is intellectual? Unfortunately for the mind-job snobs and the coños , you’re just the minority. Nakakapag-english lang, akala ay napakatalino na at mas marunong pang magpatakbo ng bansa. If your type would be leading the country, only nerds and keyboard-potatoes like you can find inspiration in your kind of mentality.
Guess again, dude. The author made a pretty spot on assessment of the SONA even before it was delivered by P.Noy. Check it out here. 😀
Indeed, the lack of substance of the SONA (and being the reflection of the person who delivered it, the overall administration of Noynoy) was foreseen looong before he planted his arse on that lucrative seat in Malacanang.
And in case you hadn’t noticed, there is usually a basis for snobbery. It’s too bad that all these New-Age feel good “postivist” emo cr@p that the average schmoe prefers to hear panders to the kind of populist sentiment that gives people that falsely warm fuzzy feeling associated with dismissing what is real as nothing more than “snobbery”.
Tough luck. The concept of “snobbery” gives the poor snobbee the false comfort that they are blessed in their lack of class (and lack of access to that which affords class).
There in lies your problem, which is believing that Filipino is the mother tongue. Considering how much of a failed language it is and its inability to unite the entire islands and its impact for at least over a century now, you have failed to observe what has really happen.
His speech was already an empty husk as it is in Filipino. He speaks it in English and it would certainly be even more apparent of his nonsense in his SONA. The only thing I can make out of it in the original language was how colorful and dramatic it is, contrary of your concept of what a State of the Nation should be. Pwede na tayo mangarap muli? Besides, you think the those regions where Filipino isn’t predominant cared about the crap he was saying in Filipino?
It accomplishes nothing and doesn’t prove what you too are looking for in a good leader. Of course it helped plenty during the election when his Yellow Zombies were in full force but now when its time for him to deliver, he has given absolutely squat. And that is fact.
You should have been following the SONA discussions we had. Otherwise in terms of realistic expectations of Noynoy would be for him to follow on his platform which SURPRISE, isn’t online anymore. And doing the complete opposite of whatever he has accomplished in terms of blunders and gaffes. Feel free to catch up with us!
LOL tell me what Filipinos have done to run the country. Is it any better than its neighbors? Is it any better than South Korea when it was as piss poor as the Philippines at one point? America had a hand in helping raise the the country and you are the same, snobbish mindless idiot who thinks the pro-nationalist stance has some truth in it. Not surprising considering you’re as much an idiot to expect from P.Noy as a leader, with what he’s done so far and his body of political work before.
There is a reason why the country in this state. Because of mediocrity worshiping majority such as yourselves.
I agree with you that when you have a conversation with a fellow Filipino on trivial, everyday affairs, we generally speak in Tagalog, but when we start speaking on ideas, we often switch to English, that is because we acquire ideas using English as the medium of understanding and not Tagalog or Bisaya. But in fact, when Cebuanos gather together, we do speak in Cebuano and it feels more natural. We also switch back and forth in Cebuano and in English, and there is perfect communication.
Probably the reason why there is so much division and animosity among Filipinos abroad is that they don’t communicate very well as they are forced to speak in Tagalog especially with those whose level of education has not afforded them access to ideas in books written in English. Therefore, the level of communication is bantering level, telenovela level and mindless indulgence in telling superficial stuff about each other and then engage in backbiting afterwards. Now I know why Filipinos abroad don’t have that sense of unity and backbite each other.
English is a more productive language as it is the source of ideas and enlightenment for Filipinos. SONA on the other hand I think should be delivered in English in deference to those whose only knowledge of Tagalo is telenovela level and news stories that are also on the same level as telenovela. N/A’s SONA was a pack of lies and since it was delivered in telenovela language, the masses were deceived even more, people were not encouraged to think on what should be the direction the country could take to join progressive nations in the 21st century. For the foreign dignitaries, they were spared the telenovela inanities in the SONA, perhaps it was just as well, they were not given translators. God bless the Philippines!!!
@Miriam:
I don’t take any issue about Cebuanos talking with fellow Cebuanos in Cebuano. And yes, it’s so natural to speak in your own native tongue. (Oh by the way, Cebuanos indeed have a good reputation for speaking in English!). But my case in point is different. It’s something like: If you’re a Cebuano, what language will you use if you’re speaking with a group composed of a Tagalog, a Bicolano, an Ilocano, and a Kapangpangan? English ba o Filipino/Tagalog?
Let’s expand this example.
Imagine yourself being part of a group of a hundred people, and all of you are survivors of a shipwreck and are stuck in a small, faraway tropical island in the Pacific Ocean.
The people came from varying backgrounds. A small portion is composed of professionals (e.g., doctors, teachers, police, etc.) and the rest are mostly laborers, farmers and indigents. You all came from different regions in the Philippines. All are confused and tired; there’s not enough food and water; and there’s not much hope of immediate rescue.
But the people wanted to get organized so everyone agreed to elect a leader. Then you got elected because the majority thinks that you’re honest and has leadership potential. Now, in which language will you communicate your plans with them? How will you raise their hopes and get them to follow you?
okay – they don’t understand each other – but magically they were able to communicate and have an election… am i missing something or what 🙂
Mikers, N/A is the biggest swindle ever sold to the Filipino electorate, without the natural charisma of a Joseph Estrada and an FPJ who an ignorant and disunited electorate would vote to the presidency with a blink of an eye, the oligarchs packaged his “leadership potential” (zero law in 12 years of receiving hundreds of millions of pesos in congress and senate and honest (profiteer from blood and sweat of Hacienda Luisita poor farmers to the tune of half a billion pesos in TV commercials and another half in other forms of lulling the masses into believing the swindle.
Come one, and then what plans he had to say to the ignorant masses during his SONA, all lies, and you are telling me that language mattered in all of this? Get real Mikers!!! Perhaps, cause it was all telenovela level, we need to shift to parliamentary system so that we will never have such an expensive election again just to elect an idiot!!!!
@Miriam. You’re saying something different to what I said. I was not saying Noynoy is a good leader. I was asking about which language you should be using when you’re talking to other Filipinos from other regions. You haven’t answered my question yet.
@BongV: Why don’t you just use some common sense and a little bit of imagination? Just answer the question. Will you speak in English or in Filipino in the given example?
Mikers: I think in the case of SONA, n/a was not only speaking to the Filipino people, he was also speaking to the rest of world that has interest in us as a potential economic partner. Now, n/a missed the chance to paint a positive outlook for the country to our foreign economic partners, no vision of any concrete plan was spelled out, only lies and backbiting against the previous administration when foreign investors have given GMA a thumbs up in at least making the effort to improve our economic fundamentals, n/a discounted all that and painted a bleak picture of the country which a reputable international financial firm has recommended to its clients as a good investment option.
Second, a SONA should have been in English for the benefit of those whose mother tongue is not Tagalog. I am sure that the people in Northern Luzon would have understood a SONA that is not only all lies if articulated in English clearly. What is the point of speaking in telenovela Tagalog in a SONA, nothing was accomplished at all in bringing the country in unity behind a clear program of governance. It simply reinforced the people’s negative perception of the past administration, courtesy of the gossip-mongers in the media, what was accomplished by that, when it was all a lie, it did not give a clear picture of the true state of the nation and how this nation could be great again.
In deference to the Cebuanos, to the Ilocanos, to the Maranaw people, etc., etc., English should have been used. English is the official language in the country and not Tagalog. Tagalog is only for trivial affairs, for the shallow and for the inconsequential, for the meaty stuff in our national life, we use English, don’t you agree with me? In government offices nationwide, people use their local vernaculars in dealing with government and then deal with important stuff in English. People then hire lawyers to explain to them in their local language what the letters of the law mean, in court hearings, do we use Tagalog in the provinces, no, we use English. Let us stop pretending that English is not important just so we could pose as patriotic when we don’t even care about issues during elections and just join the bandwagon of this family being good because it is yellow and that politician is good because the family is this and that, do we show our patriotism by thinking about politician’s platform of governance first before his family name?
@mikers
First of all, Redd did not say that the “country that uses its mother tongue can still prosper.” This is exactly what he said:
If you wouldn’t mind scrolling up, I have responded to his comment appropriately and all you needed to do was read it. Progress depends on the culture which is embedded in the language. If you want Tagalog to be our official language, then based on what Redd said, our culture is also weak like our language.
There was no need to be mean to me just because you do not fully understand the message of the blog. I can understand why you don’t get the whole context because you are obviously not a regular reader of AntiPinoy. Most regulars here usually get where I’m coming from but my mistake was in assuming that most people are already of the opinion that P.Noy’s leadership sucks. Well, it looks like I would have to give a history of P.Noy’s gaffes for the sake of new readers here every time I write an article. I just hate sounding repetitive though. If you wouldn’t mind catching up, you can read some of the other blogs here to enlighten you more.
You said:
I can see a lot of holes in your statement. It is a fact that you are overseas for work as you stated but can you imagine yourself coming back home to the Philippines now that P.Noy is in Malacanang? The answer is still no because you still don’t believe that P.Noy is capable of delivering the much needed changes to achieve progress in the country. His win does not stop people from leaving unfortunately.
So, you talk in Tagalog among your fellow kababayans, I have no problem with that but I’m pretty sure you guys got whatever job you have there now because your English is way better than the average JUANDELACRUZ. I am not dismissing Tagalog just because I am a “snob.” As I said in my blog: “I just want to state the facts or the reality as it is. The fact, as one of the headlines in the PhilSTAR.com says, is that in the Philippines, “75% of employers reject applicants with poor English.” According to the article, there was a study that “showed 75 percent of employers had turned down jobseekers with a poor command of English, and 97 percent believed those with good English were also more productive.”
By P.Noy emphasizing the use of Tagalog, he was basically saying that he is being patriotic which is to me a lot of B.S. because 1) Not every Filipino especially the ones from the provinces believes that Tagalog is a good language 2) Like Redd pointed out, it is shallow and useless and so therefore, P.Noy is being anti-intellectual.
Don’t hate Filipinos who prefer English over Tagalog. We are just being practical and logical. Don’t be a snob to those who speak in English as well, we are just being ourselves just like you are being yourself when you talk in Tagalog among your friends.
Can you tell me why the use of Tagalog is a positive thing? Please consider the report in the Philstar.com headline before you answer the question. The continued use of Tagalog has not made us progressive as a people but in fact, it is the use of English which equate to success for most Filipinos.
It would be good if you could read and comprehend the rest of the comments from other people first before letting your emotion rule your better judgment.
P.Noy getting more likes on his Facebook fanpage is not bad if he gets the likes for the right reasons not just by saying empty rhetoric.
Here are some more blogs for you:
P.Noy: Being president is not a popularity contest
P.Noy’s SONA: What the clapping audience failed to hear
Cheerio! 🙂
No. I didn’t say Tagalog should be our official language (But it is!). So please don’t go on jumping to things I didn’t say.
And yes, Redd said something about countries that are not using English as an official language can be and have been successful:
“Having a good command of the king’s language is not the end all, be all kind of stuff. Most the Asian tiger economies such as China, Japan and Korea are not English speaking countries. But they have attained first world status.”
Anyway, I’ve placed some other comments on this article. I’m giving my keyboard a rest for now. Will do a follow up in after a few days. Good night. Good day.
Using your logic, Tagalog is the official language if you live in the capital, Southern Luzon middle Luzon. Go beyond those areas and other islands and the people there aren’t talking in Tagalog anymore for the most part.
As much as Redd has a point, he forgot to attribute certain qualities those nations have with own language and culture. Those 3 nations have built up heir languages to easily exchange ideas, promote forward thinking and seeking out knowledge. They have a culture that embraces knowledge to begin with, with China and its volumes of ancient texts and wisdom, Korea and its value on education and Japan’s efforts on technological and industrial fields in the last century. And later on valued the knowledge that English, a global language held thus their desire to learn the language as well.
That is a complete 180 degree to the Filipinos where the culture doesn’t embrace forward thinking and acceptance that other cultures have influenced the country and can be used at a great advantage. Instead it promotes a false sense of nationality from whatever mediocre history the country, especially trying to exaggerate the impact of People Power and the creation of the Filipino language. So in fairness, The Filipino language in its close to 100 year existence couldn’t even unite the people and promote the kind of thinking and culture those countries Redd had cited.
What is stopping Pinoys from mastering all the major languages of the islands and English and be successful at the same time? The same kind of thinking that you need a failed, unifying national language to be accepted over the other languages that existed before.
@mikers
If you yourself don’t particularly like Tagalog to be our official language, then why label me “snobish and cynical?” Your argument has now become pointless.
The other countries that Redd cited as examples in his comment obviously have strong cultures that is refllected in their languages.
may nabasa pala akong nuytard reaction tungkol sa di pagprovide ng abnoy admin ng mga interpreter sa mga inimbitahang ambassadors.
Nasa pilipinas daw kasi sila (ambassadors) kaya dapat sila ang makibagay (magdala ng sariling interpreter).
Paging none of ya biznez. Asan ka na.
Looks like when P.Noy took the seat, the meaning of Pinoy Hospitality left their heads. So now we can be international assholes since P.Noy is in da house? LOLS!
hey guys 🙂
aren’t we international assholes already even before p.noy came a long? seems to me the worst pinoy traits are already imbedded in us. only p.noy encouraged that and made every ‘yellow drone’ feel like kings of the world
@Kahlil
true enough. A pacquiao main event fight turns their racial ignorance to a high degree. Mexicans are slandered and they try out a$$hole a more rich, accomplished and arrogant a$$hole in Mayweather. At least he has his last laugh, all the way to the bank.
Marcos and GMA are great leaders, the kind of leaders this country ought to have.
Amen to that! At least they KNOW AND APPLY the ethos of a true leader: Not to please, but to serve the people, popularity be damned!
FVR is also a suffice leader IMO.At least he actually responded when the Chinese were doing some crazy shit in the Spratly Islands.He also wanted to change the constitution but alas,that was not to be.
… daaang
… makoy and ate glo were/are leaders in their own right…
… all others exercised their leadership their own way… lookit, my idolo bigotilyo gung gong prez erap…
… at the end, ALL OF THEM BECAME MILLIONAIRES with their meager flip gov’t salaries…
… they’re PURE LEADERS in terms of PAGNANAKAWS…
I get the feeling that the AP bloggers want to project an image of infallibility.
This is supposed to be a forum where pro and anti sentiments can be freely expressed.
What is sadly happening is opposing views get instant rebuttal as if this is a debate.
I believe that nobody in this forum has the monopoly of knowledge.
@Redd
But there are facts. The problem is people don’t acknowledge them. What I have written in responses to many (including you) are for the most part backed up with objective and factual basis. If you have a problem with it, we can certainly have a discussion about it.
I don’t think AP is projecting an image of infallibility. But they put time, energy and effort in some of their analysis and just because X person doesn’t take well to your opinion doesn’t mean you are wrong. Some people like me tend to correct others because what they are saying isn’t factual, or isn’t supported by logic.
I think someone had written down in one of the articles that those who response with facts know what they are talking about. Those who resort to emotional pandering or responses that pertain to gut feeling and what not, don’t have the answers. Nobody has a monopoly in knowledge but certainly, there are those who spent their time with analysis and picking out the proper, specific details to address the issue. You can help by picking it apart and debating it either way or you can play the strawman.
Otherwise Redd there are many other Pinoy related discussion sites where they take your input and as long as it is consensus with everyone, regardless of its lack of logic, they will allow you to contribute.
Walang personalan.
@Redd
I’m surprised you feel this way despite the appropriate responses that were given to the comments on this thread including yours. In fact, I even thanked you for a well thought of comment.
If you read the article and the comments again, you should realise that some of those who strongly disagree with most of the articles obviously do not understand the point we are trying to make so they resort to attacking the blogger. Try to put yourself in our shoes for a moment and see how you can take being called “MGA GAGO NGA BA TALAGA, O WALA LANG TALAGA KAYONG PAGMAMAHAL O PAG-IBIG SA SARILING ATIN. AY, NAKALIMUTAN KO, MGA TRAYDOR” by JUANDELACRUZ or how about “snobbish, cynical, and just an exercise of masturbating one’s intellectual vanity” by Mikers. Let’s see how far you can go without losing it and going down to their level. If you don’t mind, I give myself and other bloggers here credit for handling comments like that without going berserk.
The problem I see with Pinoys is that some of us cannot really handle criticism. Some of us take it too personally. This is precisely the reason why we cannot progress. Para tayong makahiya – we easily shut down the minute we think that our egos are bruised. The conversation turns nasty and nothing gets resolved easily.
My article was simply trying to point out that Filipinos/P.Noy would be better off using English because even the newspaper article is already saying that employers look for employees who are proficient in English. I would have thought that citing something like would be enough to convince Filipinos that it is not just my suggestion but it is a reality that we have to accept. It baffles me that some people would think that I am being snobbish and elitist for trying to help people realise what they need to do in order to progress. Sad, really.
Don’t worry Ilda. Being pro-English is only elitist to leftists and those who don’t get the point. Or they are the ones who don’t know how to relate cause to effect. I feel more like the AP bloggers are like the prophetess Cassandra. We know what’s going to happen, but few believe us. Anyway, that’s common with people who know the bitter truth.
If that’s the case, si Ulong pare pala eh leftist and don’t get the point also? 🙂
And when the bitter truth comes to bite the lesser minds in their collective backside, it’s the classical statement: They are caught with their pants down and two inches hanging from between their sorry legs.
I think what some have misinterpreted, especially when Miikers attempted to contradict is that knowing Filipino doesn’t exclude you from being hired.
What is however true is that in certain fields such as engineer, business and science, many employers have a basis for hiring someone with English proficiency than TAGALOG proficiency. Using it in the workplace to get acclimated with fellow Pinoys to give them a sense of solidarity in that location is good as well.
@Jay: In the first place, the topic I was driving on to was the issue of Noynoy speaking in Tagalog in a SONA. The person was talking to the whole nation about what is the current state of the country and about his administration’s plans. He never even talked about promoting Tagalog as an official language, nor the language that should be used during job interviews.. But still, you and ilda went on connecting his choice of language to the issue of employers preferring English-proficient job applicants. Would you mind elaborating on the connection?
The President spoke in Tagalog, but this was not intended to promote the language. (Nor he would have promoted English just for the sake of encouraging people to do the same). He used it to reach out to more people as much as possible.He’s not having a job interview; he’s not saying Tagalog is a better language. What he did was a political speech! And when someone does a political speech, the objective is how to effectively pass on the message and make it stick into the minds and hearts of your audience, and hopefully give the speaker the momentum of support for his intentions. Noynoy’s use of Tagalog gives a chance for the less educated among us to somehow understand him.
I do understand your point regarding the importance of English in our professional lives. I was not arguing about that, you see. (You were jumping again).
This article and some comments in favor of it sounds more like getting a big nag from your middle-aged mom in a bad mood. Argue against Issue A, and you are showered with a whole dump of other issues from B to Z, though not entirely related to what you’re talking about. It’s like you’re getting lectured just for the sake of lecturing; making a point though pointless.
Garbage in. Garbage out.
@mikers
It is becoming clearer to me that you just want to go around in circles. Even our resident challenger, GabbyD didn’t seem to have a problem connecting the dots between the SONA and Tagalog (I still have my fingers crossed though).
P.Noy did not have to officially say “I am now promoting Tagalog as our language.” Obviously by speaking in Tagalog in his speeches, he already is stressing to everyone that he is advocating the use of Tagalog. And to me, by promoting Tagalog, he is being anti-intellectual because as we’ve already pointed out, Tagalog is a pointless language in business and in building international relations. What he is promoting is misguided nationalism and at what price?
At this point, it is useless to argue about it. P.Noy is already set to do whatever he wants without listening to anyone anyway so let’s just see how things turn out in a few years. But I’m pretty sure the kids who go to private schools and practice English more will still get the higher paying jobs. Tough luck!
@Mikers
Let me clarify, since you are caught chasing your own tail. This is Ilda’s point, summarized (the 2nd time);
Which is odd since she has explained EVERYTHING on the article above yet you keep pressing me and her with:
If I may be blunt; No big firm is putting a sign for engineers in the Philippines to have FILIPINO proficiency.
Or maybe as much destitute and brainless people in NCR and Luzon. Or you didn’t read the part in our discussion where outside of those primary areas, Tagalog is not their ethno-centric language.
And like the venerable poster named noneofyourbusiness, I recommend you take your own advice and get at us directly with some logical basis. Because with the drivel you’ve been led to believe like being convinced Noynoy actually had a message and got it through, being that he’s incompetent and he’d rather get revenge instead of talking about progress, you aren’t convincing me that your assessment is in any form correct even if you complain about the nature of the posts backed up at least with analysis, facts and logic. Sadly, I’m surprised you don’t get it considering you claim yourself to be intelligent.
if the LGU doesnt want the Bataan nuclear plant, that makes noynoy anti-intellectual?
Well, he doesn’t even want to look into the pros and cons of operating a nuclear power plant as an alternative, GabbyD. His secretary said that as far as P.Noy is concerned it is a closed issue. This despite the energy crisis and rising cost of electricity. Would you say his move is being intellectual?
That’s the technique of avoiding the issue, isn’t it?
huh?
he said the bataan plant is a closed issue. not nuclear power.
this is your link. i just read it.
“Despite nudging from various groups, the Aquino administration has finally given the death sentence to proposals for the re-powering of the mothballed 620-megawatt Bataan nuclear power facility; but options to build nuclear facilities on other, safer sites will be considered.”
pls read your own links. they can be very informative.
Do you really think Philippines can afford a new nuclear power plant? Considering safer sites for nuclear facilities is probably just political posturing.
There were also other links in the article you could also read that makes PNA an anti-intellectual.
And you GabbyD, should try and learn to understand what “it is a closed issue” means.
It means P.Noy’s administration is not prepared to look into the matter any further whether in Bataan or any other place in the Philippines. P.Noy’s secretary was highly suggesting that we look into it further but as far as P.Noy is concerned “it is a closed issue”
What’s so hard to understand about that, GabbyD?!? 👿
AbNoy reminds me of the Roman Emperor Caligula
AbNoy was the son of Ninoy who some Filipinos admired and respected
Caligula was the son of the Roman General Germanicus, the most respected and beloved Roman general of his time
Both belongs to aristocracy
During his imperial reign, Caligula went insane and becomes a retard
Guess where AbNoy’ s presidential reign is going = towards insanity and retardedness..
PNoy as Caligula? My Lord, where does he enjoy his orgies?
Is Tagalog really our national language? I find it amusing that since grade school Filipino has been a worthless subject. As much as I reaped good grades in that subject, I still can’t appreciate the beauty of it as our national language. I’d rather speak English any other day.
Good thing my Filipino teacher in college encourages us to use our mother tongues. And yes, English is my mother tongue, so I’m pretty much as clean as I can get in the class.
… daang
… to all pseudo-intellectuals…
… to know and speak a lot of languages/dialects is a sign of high iq… linguists are currently in demand…
… if y’all equate tangalog/pilipino/filipino as low intellect… if y’all fcuked up…
… I AM ASHAMED TO BE PART OF YOUR RACE… buti na lang, ain’t a FLIP!
… ay sus ginoo…
Jay:
Regarding the “Mother Tongue”: Read again, Jay. How can that be my problem when I never even mentioned that Filipino is the mother tongue of Filipinos? If you’re a Tagalog, you mother tongue is Tagalog. If you’re a Cebuano, your main language is Cebuano.. and so forth.
My argument is that Noynoy’s use of Tagalog is not, by it alone, an anti-intellectual thing. And also, the author mentioned that the article was not about which lenguaje to use, when in fact almost half of the number of paragraphs was all about the use of Tagalog and English.
–“Because of mediocrity worshiping majority such as yourselves” — Wow! You must be above a lot of people to say this. I am not worthy, oh, my omnipotent wise one.
Kung leader ka, sa taas siguro ng standard mo (e.g., pang- intellectual at kailangan ay English speaking), konti lang ang makakasunod syo. What’s real is that not all Filipinos has the same intelligence as what you (hypothetically) have. Yes, they (we) can be called mediocre if compared to your high intelligence (again, hypothetical). But to them, if people can’t relate to you, they would most likely say to you “go to hell”. And by that, you won’t get them to follow you.
How will you be able to move a country if you can’t win the hearts of your people? How can you bring your most intelligent and effective ideas if you don’t have enough followers who will listen to you?
You make it sound that intellectual people are unfit to lead a country. A lot of intellectual leaders are able to move the hearts and minds of their people. Not because they are spewing populist words but because they are knowledgeable enough to back up what they are presenting to the people.
Knowing English and using it proficiently reflects on your performance at school. Good performance in school reflects on your diligence, discipline and hard work. Ergo, it reflects several key character traits of a person. A well practiced English speaker/writer also shows that this person is a well read, open to ideas, willingness to discuss and share any topic of interest.
@Miaw
well certainly one guy who comes to mind is winston churchill. Beloved by his people and with great wisdom.
Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln to name a few from US. And yes… Barack Obama is an intellectual.
Nelson Mandela for South Africa.
Deng Xiaoping from China (set the foundation for the advancement of China).
Lee Kuan Yew from Singapore (need I say more?).
Those from the other provinces like Mindanao may think of the SONA in Tagalog as the government’s Tagalog-centrism. There are a lot of other things that can be interpreted in the Tagalog SONA. I agree in a sense that the language choice can be seen as the consequence of some anti-intellectualism, though I saw it more as representing a desire to disconnect from the world, basically some anti-foreignism. But there already seems to be a kind of disconnection that “Imperial Manila” is signaling to the fringes of the country. Of course, we can see a lot of other things that our current administration is doing wrong aside from the SONA’s content.
Even if you can win the hearts of the people, without using the brain, the hearts are more likely to go through the cardiac arrests of failed endeavors and misled actions. BTW, if you think we don’t have enough followers… that’s too assumptive. Look again.
Some people are still under the correct assumption that whatever moves in Manila affects the entire islands.
… daaang
@jay… exactly!
… 90% of malakanyang inhabitants/occupants are from the south of ‘tang inang imperial manila…
… 80% of admin are from the same region >>> south of ‘tang inang imperial manila…
… manila is littered with squats from the south of ‘tang inang imperial manila… the ampatuanized hapless helpless flips…
… the original manileno is long gone… ‘bakwet to wadab… 😳
… nuke ‘tang inang imperial manila… nyuk…. nyuk nyuk….
@ChinoF – bisdaks listening to spoklong tangalog balut penoy were saying dang tang’nang imperial manila 😆
@Mikers
Actualy the article was not about which lenguaje to use. But if you want to discuss this point we sure can.
The problem is not people being able to relate to anyone, especially as a leader. If you are still under the illusion that an efficient leader has to be loved by his people bar none before his decision making, then you surely have missed out on certain leaders who lived off from their sycophants. Cory Aquino is the prime example. Estrada as well and certainly Noynoy Aquino. Did they Move the country to better heights? Help build a future that stands to even now and promote the society to strive to be better? Of course not. Otherwise there wouldn’t be an AP around.
Why are you offended with the mediocrity claim? Its correct isn’t it? I mean look at all the people swayed by Noynoy with claims kung walang korupt, walang mahirap and he certainly got his followers to believe in its false claim. Meanwhile, there were 2 other candidates who weren’t as popular because they wanted to talk about progress, changing filipino values and CONCRETE long term goals for the country. In fact many of said followers from before got all emotional, claiming one of those leaders were connected to the former president, which they also view with disdain and the other they viewed as arrogant by opinion alone.
The former president herself, though not popular through the manipulation of media and forcing it on the masses managed to keep the country’s economy stable and developed key friendships with other countries.
For the most part, the most efficient ideas aren’t popular at all. Especially in this country where the Aquino’s trusted friends control most of the media outlets the followers read on a daily basis. They want the people to care more about everything else except those efficient ideas, which also oddly enough require some intelligence and curiosity to look into.
I recommend you read some former articles regarding leadership in AP.
We are way past winning the hearts and minds of people. The circumstances will force the issue – high utility rates, high cost of goods – they will have no choice but to listen when the circumstances make it really hard on their wallet. It’s not like these ideas weren’t available before – free markets, capitalism – just like the ideas being practiced now in the Philippines – protectionism, import-substitution. The more Pinoys wall themselves into Asia’s Hermit Archipelago – the worse it will get for them.
There’s always another option – mamatay sila sa gutom – and remain totally clueless. If they don’t take care of themselves – no one will. You think the government really cares? Just look at the onerous HLI deal – daang matuwid my arse. People can keep on telling us “go to hell” – it still will not make their lives any less miserable and downtrodden.
Bong V, I am really amazed to read about this import substitution policy cause every time I’d walk into supermarkets and department stores back home, I could find products from all over the world readily, from soaps, to shampoo, to towels, to pots etc., etc., etc., a stark contrast to Japan. Over here, you have to go to special import stores which are far and inaccessible to the average Japanese. Most goods sold at stores are Japanese made products. Do we really have as you said import substitution policy, if we indeed do, then, there is zero implementation. Puro nalang tayo imports and that is why our manufacturing sector is dying. . .
@Miriam – import substitution ” – Import substitution industrialization or “Import-substituting Industrialization” (called ISI) is a trade and economic policy based on the premise that a country should attempt to reduce its foreign dependency through the local production of industrialized products. The term primarily refers to 20th century development economics policies, though it was advocated since the 18th century.
Adopted in many Latin American countries from the 1930s until the late 1980s, and in some Asian and African countries from the 1950s on, ISI was theoretically organized in the works of Raúl Prebisch, Hans Singer, Celso Furtado and other structural economic thinkers, and gained prominence with the creation of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC or CEPAL). Insofar as its suggestion of state-induced industrialization through governmental spending, it is largely influenced by Keynesian thinking, as well as the infant industry arguments adopted by some highly industrialized countries, such as the United States, until the 1940s. ISI is often associated with dependency theory, though the latter adopts a much broader sociological outlook which also addresses cultural elements thought to be linked with underdevelopment.
The major advantages claimed for ISI include: increases in domestic employment (reducing dependence on labour non-intensive industries such as raw resource extraction and export); resilience in the face of a global economic shocks (such as recessions and depressions); less long-distance transportation of goods (and concomitant fuel consumption and greenhouse gas and other emissions).
The disadvantages claimed for ISI is that the industries that it creates are inefficient and obsolete as they aren’t exposed to internationally competitive industries which constitute their rivals and that the focus on industrial development impoverishes local commodity producers who are primarily rural. Other disadvantages include unemployment increasing internationally as World GDP decreases through the promotion of inefficiency.
In most manufacturing processes a point of output is reached after which the cost of producing every additional unit of output diminishes. Different types of industries, given their different production functions (combinations of capital and labor, etc.) obtain different scale thresholds or minimum levels of output necessarily to begin accruing cost savings from large-scale output. For example, a mechanical pencil factory may need to sell 5 million units of output (pencils) each year before it can achieve economies of scale of production – efficient level of production. An automobile industry may need to sell 519, 001 units of output (cars) to achieve the same level of efficiency.
Clearly, the more units of anything manufactured you can sell the better the chances that your factories (consumer goods and intermediate, and ultimately capital goods) will achieve economies of scale, efficient production. In a free market global economy, industries that produce inefficiently (without obtaining economies of scale of production) under the protections of ISI have been subject to criticism from more efficient foreign industries – a force driving the neo-liberal campaign for open markets.
What determines whether a country obtains efficiency (defined as economies of scale in production)? Market size (number of consumers, population) and purchasing power (usually but unreliably indicated by GNP/capita). Hence, larger, richer economies were more likely to make ISI succeed efficiently, whereas smaller countries with lower per capita incomes were less likely to succeed with ISI.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Import_substitution_industrialization
… daaang
… like a sirang plaka (or sirang i-pod), i’ll post this again:
… english usage among flips/flipflams (or any non english speakers aka english as 2nd language)
>>> AS A NECESSITY: use english when addressing a non-dialect/no unggoy audience…
>>> AS A COURTESY: use english when addressing a mix audience, i.e. non dialect/kapwa unggoy audience…
>>> AS ELITISTS: use english when addressing classes CDE&F flips, i.e. hampas-lupas, squats, ignos, ‘toopids, ijits… para sikat… tse lang sa mga walang pinag-aralan!
pota, pinipilit ni Pres Aquino, Benigno Noy ang pagtangkilik ng opm. Langya. Mumurahin ko na yata siya sa site nilang puno ng clueless pips http://www.president.gov.ph
tangnang nationalism yan.
Hayaan mo sila so we can finally put to the test where this nationalism is going to take the country once and for all. We’ll be ready for the “We told you so.”
hayaan natin. Just on schedule for Noynoy to increase the propaganda bar further because its going to be an even bumpier ride over there. So he’s going to need more people reacting and not acting.
Lets see if nationalism puts any food on their table and helps them sleep at night.
BongV, I studied Economics in college and so I am quite familiar with the terms used here. I am of the opinion though that we rely too much on the Western model of economic development, meaning a pure an unadulterated free market economic model. We all know that the West could afford to advocate this as they are pretty ahead in industrialization courtesy of course of their empires way back then. The rest of the world are supposed to swallow this same model and they have lost clearly to the open competition the West wanted them to embrace. This to me is the fault of countries that have tried ISI following the Western model.
State capitalism is another model that has clearly shown success such as in Japan, South Korea and I suspect China as well. There is a clear difference between the two models, state capitalism has succeeded in Asia, in Latin America, I am not sure how it has been tried out. State capitalism economic development model assists key industries identified by the government in its industrial policy, not necessarily the government running these industries directly as in communist states, but that the private sector being forced to cooperate with the government to promote its agenda of economic development. When the government is single-minded about this, the partner-industries can get favorable loans from government run financial institutions, in exchange to generating jobs for the masses. The government also urges consumers to patronize the products these state-supported industries manufacture, and with consumer loans provided to its populace to buy the manufactured goods of these industries. Exports are promoted as well with active government support. This has been the model Japan, China and Korea have followed. Economies of scale could easily be achieved when local consumers assisted by government-run financial institutions are empowered and when exports are promoted.
In other words, there is single-minded pursuit of promoting certain key industries with strong state support and people support. The media may also be enjoined to promote this industrial policy for economic development. China being a repressive regime could succeed because all criticisms are stifled and all public institutions are behind the government pursuits of economic development. There are no pretense of even being slightly interested in political development along the lines of the Western political agenda, it is only economic development that China is interested in, and all else is subordinated to the state aims of economic growth. Now, can we have something like this in the country without necessarily being like a Chinese nation. Something similar to Japan or South Korea would be desirable, are we capable of implementing State Capitalism at this stage of World History. I don’t know, probably a mixture of both free market and state capitalism could provide a model. I don’t think there is now a single purist economic model that can lift us up from economic doldrums, a hodge podge of this and that would suffice, but our legislators have to start using their heads and start debating and then we can be single-minded about it, we need strong leadership, not the one we have now, although if the idiot could hit it right with sustained economic growth in the years to come, I will salute him.
@Miriam and BongV
I appreciate your exchange of views and information. I am learning a lot from both of you. I know little about Economics but way back 1990 in Europe, a Norwegian once told me that the main purpose of the industrialized nations opening the global market is that to help developing countries be progressive and dependent. He told me that rich countries are getting tired of just giving developmental funds to underdeveloped nations. He explained that the main problem in the Philippines is that the Filipino people are not innovative and lacking in “industrial minds”. To be able to compete in the global market, we also have to offer something or else those industrialized nations will simply make consumers out of us, and that leads to their advantages.
@mel
Unfortunately, that’s exactly what we are = consumers! This is the reason why Kris Aquino is the most sought after by advertising agents. She feeds on the catatonic minds who go around town without any sense of purpose but to eat and buy trinkets.
@Ilda
Quite true. And the brain drain continues. If only those famous personalities will take social responsibility seriously, the Filipino minds can get out of such “catatonic” state.
@mel
Well there is certainly a reason why the start-ups in the country, when I looked at the business rags I bought years ago were pretty much small-medium safe investments or family owned ones usually pertaining to food, crafts or cheap to produce and sell high overseas kind of production.
If we look back what Cory brought to the table during her presidential run, besides ABS-CBN, it was just additional canneries and a micro-brewery company. That kind of stuff is pretty much small time if you consider what the other nations have been planning for the future during that time.
Mel, your Norwegian friend was right, it is now the trend to trade rather than aid to help a country develop. However, look at Africa, this policy has not been effective either because in trade there is still so much inequality. Africa could only be competitive in the world market though its agricultural exports, but with the subsidies European governments give to their farmers, agricultural imports from third world countries are not that cheap compared to subsidized milk, cheese and other European agri-products. Bananas, pineapples are produced by multinationals at lower wages in other developing countries such as ours and El Salvador and so producers of the same products who are small from other third world countries like Jamaica are at a loss. This is just one example of inequality as to why even the policy of “Trade not Aid” is working to the advantage of the developed countries. The economic divide is widening in our global society, I think though that open trade could be used by any country to its advantage if a government has clear economic policy which should include an industrial policy. Our country has a lot of problems of governance, our law makers should start debating policies, and implement them and not focus on personal attacks.
@mel
Asians in general, Filipinos in particular are not creative. But what is the difference between the advanced Japanese and Filipinos? Well the Japanese are able to assimilate the technological advancements of the Western world. They import technology and improve on it. But Filipinos? Well there has not been any improvement on the jeepney since the Second World War.
The irony is that while our infrastructure is in a dismal state, we have nice big shopping malls and fast food restaurants are ubiquitous. This is characteristic of the consumer economy. There is less demand for good infrastructure because there is little production. The amount of electricity that is needed to produce a jeepney is the same as that in World War 2, for example.
I encountered some people today in a forum.. somehow still blinded by the system.. they don’t believe that the elites encourage English deficiency in order to protect their protectionist elite democracy.. Elites wanted to prevent Filipinos to learn English or master the language simply because once Filipinos learns the language.. they become open to new ideas.. they become free-thinkers.. still they don’t get what I meant… the think Abnoy speaking Filipino in his inauguration and SONA in front of foreign dignitaries was being patriotic..
You are correct Publius. While people like Mikers above strongly believe that I am being a “snob and elitist” for advocating for the use of English, he doesn’t realise that what P.Noy is doing will actually keep the rest of the masses in the dark when they end up being proficient only in Tagalog.
Those who can afford it will still continue to send their kids to exclusive schools or abroad which means that their English proficiency will always be miles ahead of those who go to public schools or those who don’t go to school at all. All the opportunities like getting a decent job for example, will still go to the ones who speak better English.
My point is so simple to understand, I don’t really know why they can’t get it.
Since we are in the language topic, I really hate it when tagalogs label Bisaya, Ilokano and others as “dialects”. They’re languages! Dialects are (for Bisaya) the Bisaya we speak in Davao, in CDO, and other places.
And people in Manila keep correcting me that my Bisaya is a “dialect” and not a language. Yeah, right. =)
The Filipino Language is the bastard child of Tagalog and English.
I-stanin mo(Stun him)
I-deposit mo
Ni-rape
etc.
I kinda agree that Tagalog wasn’t improved, otherwise we shouldn’t be using these terms unless, they are really awkward (like salong-puwet=upuan). I remembered the theme for our nutrition week that was released by DepED district division “Para maging Bright, kumain ng Right”.
@ilda
OMG ilda.
nakasulat in black and white. the ARE considering!
please quote the line the line where Pnoy says what ur said he said. –“It means P.Noy’s administration is not prepared to look into the matter any further whether in Bataan or any other place in the Philippines. ”
when the quote i gave u says EXPLICITLY:
“It means P.Noy’s administration is not prepared to look into the matter any further whether in Bataan or any other place in the Philippines. ”
the quotes from the article:
““Despite nudging from various groups, the Aquino administration has finally given the death sentence to proposals for the re-powering of the mothballed 620-megawatt Bataan nuclear power facility; but options to build nuclear facilities on other, safer sites will be considered.””
“Energy Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras has verbalized the sentiment of President Noynoy Aquino, stressing that “as far as BNPP is concerned, it’s a closed issue because of the social reaction.”He stated that the Aquino administration’s position as to queries on BNPP re-powering would be a solid “no” and hoped that this part in the history of the country’s initial nuclear foray may no longer be reopened.”
its so funny and ironic that you are talking about how important english is. yet you steadfastly “interpret” link incorrectly. seriously, i’m having serious doubts if u can understand english, when the text is so transparent, unambiguous.
i tried to give u benefit of the doubt. i thought, may she just didnt read the link.
yet, even after i gave u a quote, u still ignored it. there is no conversation with you; no exchange of ideas, coz u never read, or bother to understand, anything i’m saying if its against ur original ideas.
OMG GabbyD
I happen to see beyond the empty rhetoric unlike you.
Just looking for another site will already take more than six years!!!
My goodness GabbyD and to think you had to post your empty comment twice. If you don’t mind, I already deleted the duplicate one.
See you around! 🙂
Here is another testimony:
From the Inquirer.net Glory days
“Dela Cruz was commander of the MPD SWAT from 2007 to 2008, a period his subordinates liked to consider the “glory days” of the unit.
“At that time, we were the ‘Best of the Best SWAT’ in the country, according to the SAF (Special Action Force),” he said.
Super SWAT earned the moniker from its members’ penchant for wearing Level 4 gear all the time—decked out in bullet-proof vests, helmets and kneepads and carrying top-of-the-line M-16 rifles and handguns.
“Some people thought we looked arrogant because we were wearing all our equipment. That’s when they started calling us ‘Super SWAT.’ They said we were elitists,” Dela Cruz said.
One of his men chimed in: “It was not meant to be a compliment.””
Bingo!!! Thanks for that Mel
I dunno why most Pinoy are totally averse to the elite. They don’t like people who know more than them = insecure!
You’re right, Iida. What’s up with the Tagalog speeches? If there’s no substance that we can get out of it, why said it in Tagalog?
Tagalog is a great language. We’re proud of it. Speaking it with substance honors it. Speaking it without substance needlessly patronizes it.
Rizal wrote his literature, especially his Mi Ultimo Adios, a poem addressed to the fatherland in Spanish. But nobody blamed him for lack of nationalism by writing it in Spanish. Why? Because the substance, to say in a cliche, “speaks for itself.”
Hi urdula
You have a good head on your shoulders. Right on! 🙂
If I may add a comment so late in the discussion, the issues that (again) hound Philippine languages is a confluence of several factors that English alone will not solve. I personally don’t believe English fluency will guarantee one’s fluency in the vernacular, not especially if you have people willing to murder the language and bodies willing to legitimate their actions hand-and-foot (a la KWF).
For that matter, as I promised in another article here that I commented, I finally uploaded by freshman research paper on Philippine language policy. Here it is: http://scr.bi/bq1aKj. 😀
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