St.

Scholastica’s Academy
City of San Fernando, Pampanga
School Year 2018 – 2019

COLONIAL MENTALITY
AMONG FILIPINOS

Group 5

#6 Clomera, Heumice B.
#5 Cayanan, Alyssa Faith R.
#16 Ignacio, Mary Louise T.
#17 Lacanlale, Cielo Andrei G.
#20 Lulu, Shielney G.
# 43 Villena, Angela Bettina C.

12 – St. Amalberga

Mrs. Sharon Templonuevo

December 17, 2018
Colonial mentality
By: Lora Noreen S. Domingo
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 12:02 AM September 07, 2014
It is not a surprise that a country like Philippines can experience colonial mentality since it
is widespread with poverty and neglect. And it is also not a surprise that the only escape out of the
ordinary is to be extraordinary. Being a Filipino and also getting a chance to grow up in the
Philippines, the author, Lora Noreen S. Domingo has experienced the Filipino lifestyle, education,
and strict moral values. The first time her mother served brown rice, she lost appetite thinking that
it was brown like feces and infested by flies. Later, her six-year-old-words described it as "pretty".
Such is Filipino's fascination for anything white. Often, our cultural values are divided
between tradition and morality. Through these values, our culture gains a sense of belonging and
pride. When cultural values and principles are erased in the culture, our culture itself is being
erased. This can be anything that has to do with culture; arts, music, and food. The Filipino folk
music is rather an uncommon, but becoming an ear-sore which most Filipinos consider outdated.
It was only when the author began to study at the Philippine High School for the Arts when she
became aware of outstanding Filipino artists like Levi Celerio, Ramon Obusan, Jose Joya, and
Leandro Locsin. The clothing Filipinos use during formal gatherings is becoming nothing but
western. Gone are the days when weddings were an event featuring traditional Filipino clothing.
Being Filipino is more than just the race we belong to. We should preserve the culture our
ancestors have struggled to keep. It is time we stood on our own feet and patronize and create our
own culture: poems, songs and dances that retell the stories of the Philippines’ oppression and its
journey to freedom.
Domingo, L. N. (2014). Colonial mentality. Retrieved from
https://opinion.inquirer.net/78220/colonial-mentality
Filipinos, Colonial Mentality, and Mental Health
A psychological approach to exploring the effects of colonialism among Filipinos
Posted Nov 02, 2017
By: E. J. R. David Ph.D.
The Philippines was ruled by the Spaniards for 333 years and was held captive by the
Americans from the year of 1898 to 1946. Since then, some Filipinos started to adapt the
foreigners’ cultures and made it into an act called colonial mentality. It’s a term used widely by
people to refer to a form of internalized oppression among Filipinos and Filipino Americans. These
pieces of evidence may likely to showcase that colonial mentality is still happening in the Filipinos;
the food. Our Filipino’s ancestors had a unique Filipino cuisine but when the foreigners came in,
our own recipes were manipulated by the American’s and Spanish’s influence. They introduced
different varieties of food such as hotdogs, hamburgers, potato chips, and macaroni that are
commonly identified as American have made their way into the Filipino food culture. Not only
were this but canned goods first introduced in the Philippines by American soldiers who brought
these non-perishable food items with them during the Filipino-American War to sustain them
during battle. Nowadays, canned goods are ever-present in every Filipino home as great
alternatives for cooking instantaneous food for unexpected guests, as well as emergencies.
But no one asked ‘why’? Why do we continue to act and think in this way? Because we
Filipinos victimized our own people by discriminating each one and degrading them with shame
and guilt. That is why most of them thought that it is better to follow the steps of the American’s
culture that they want to be like them and not to end up being a cancer in the Philippines. Not only
by physical features but our history will be forgotten soon because of tolerating the real criminals
by not forging them into prison. Justice is not equally distributed among people that is why there
is a feeling of discomfort because of the social hierarchy that is being shown in the Philippines.
Being affected with colonial mentality doesn’t start with the want of each one but begins with
our fellow comrades. Most of Filipinos are ashamed, embarrassed and they even hate their selves
and these conditions are the reason why Filipinos continue to adopt the attitude of colonial
mentality. Besides, Filipinos make fun and judge their fellow Filipinos who’s different from them.
They always think of what’s better for them and they are contented of what they have and who
they are.
Brown Skin, White Minds
By Jesse Rupert Lasado
In his book, Brown Skin, White Minds, Jesse Rupert Lasado highlights the Filipino
colonial mentality in which he refers to as an epidemic as Filipinos develop a preference for all
things foreign over their own. He further emphasized that such a mindset among Filipinos is due
to their innate ability to adapt, be it to natural disasters, recessions, and even corrupt government,
thus, enabling them to shed cultural ties as easy as changing one’s clothes. Lasado also mentions
that it is no surprise that the Philippines is experiencing such a problem since it is a country rife
with poverty and squalor. As the article progresses, Lasado states that he believes that such issue
is faced by our country as it has a rich history of colonialism, from the Spanish to the Americans.
Spanish Colonialism has influenced Filipino Language, religion, and cultural values. On
the other hand, Americans, in which presented a lifestyle of hedonism; excess and pleasure. As
time progresses, colonial mentality emerges. Filipinos, not all but some, are willingly trading
themselves to the solely for a chance to become one with the "superior", like Spaniards and
Americans.