Marvin Isidore "Sid" Macatol Weblog

Philippine history from 750,000 BC until 1946 in 60 beautiful dioramas, what a bargain! Anyone who goes to Makati has no excuse for not visiting the Ayala Museum . (Take note of my earlier post on how to be a better Filipino!) Philippine history is interesting. It tells us who we are and who we are not. It tells us of our struggles and explains to us that all that we see around us now did not come from the clouds, but from the blood, sweat and tears of our ancestors. Anyone who asks, "Who am I?" should go see the Ayala Museum. It won't cost you much to go there and it's absolutely easy to go there. It's between Greenbelt 4 and Greenbelt 5. You wouldn't miss it.

It's easy to say be a Filipino by choice, but what's the price to pay? To me, being a Filipino by choice does not have to mean staying here in the Philippines and remain a Filipino citizen til you rot. The reality for a lot of Filipinos is, some of us just have to leave either to maintain their existence, or at least their sanity. You work your brains out here and what do you get in return for the 20-32% the government takes away from your salary? Indeed, what do we get in return for what gets deducted from our profits, dividends or take home pay? How I wish I see statesmanship, unity in purpose, strong and principled leadership worthy of respect and admiration in the annals of our country's history.

There are at least three things one can do to be a better Filipino. Certainly, there are more. But these are my contributions to the table. 1. BE A FILIPINO BY CHOICE There are two kinds of Filipinos. Filipinos by default, and Filipinos by choice. There's a world of difference between the two. Filipinos by default. When you were born, you became a Filipino by default. You did not choose what would appear on your birth certificate, nor did you choose the nationality of your parents, much less the place you were born in. Then, as you grew up, you had all these impressions--good or bad--about the Philippines, but were largely uninvolved because of your very young age.

Emails about the relative size of the earth with respect to the giant creations in the cosmos abound. But it took Louie Giglio to startle me with the implications of these pieces of knowledge. Before, to me, such stuff were just science. But Louie Giglio gave it a spiritual dimension. Yes, I do believe God is the Creator of all things, but I didn't immediately realize how that really feels...once we look out into the cosmos. The images below are from rense.com although this site does not claim ownership of these images. I received these images myself through email, but I cannot locate them now. Perhaps the email browser already deleted them.

Being someone from Mindanao, I cannot help but get concerned about the news of renewed hostilities between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The question, "when will this end?" echoes through history in the Christian-Muslim confrontation in the South. I too ask that, when will this end? Honestly, I do not see an end to it. But I admit my vision is limited on this matter. There are seemingly irreconcilable forces at work here. The history of Christian-Muslim relationship that dates back to the middle ages in Europe has somehow translated itself into the southern part of the homeland. We honor Lapu-Lapu , who was Muslim, for slaying Magellan , who, incidentally, brought with him priests who introduced Christianity into the islands. We honor Sultan Kudarat for his sense of nationhood and his defiance against Spain, which ruled us for 400 years and brought the influence of the Catholic Church into our lands. See the conflict that is raging inside me. I...

You want to be "IN"? Blame Catholicism for our country's woes. This post is a response to the post of (almost) the same title at PinoyBlog.com . In that post, Jerome Nadal makes five arguments as to why the Philippines is poor, and somehow attributes those arguments to Catholicism. This post isn't going to be long (hopefully), but let me summarize Jerome's arguments as follows: 1. Filipinos are taught (by the Church) to "hate himself and the world." I cannot relate with this statement. A Catholic, and every so-called Christian for this matter, is taught about Faith and Repentance. Faith in God, first, then repentance. The purpose of repentance is to reconcile one's self with God, whom one has faith in. So, faith and repentance are two sides of the same coin. It's about union with God who creates man and the world. One can't reconcile one's self with himself and the world if he is taught to "hate himself and the world." Is it bec...

Filipinos speak English, even to each other. I went about browsing different Filipino-oriented blogs and forums yesterday to get a more thorough insight into how overseas Filipinos think and feel. I felt uneasy when I gathered that some overseas Filipinos took issue of the fact that some Filipinos do not speak the native tongue even among each other. The native "tongue" was specifically referred to in one entry as "Filipino," which in fact is Tagalog. Hey, I'm Cebuano-speaking (a.k.a. "bisdak" or "bisayang dako") , so that already gives you an idea why I cannot relate with the sentiments. Cebuano and Tagalog may have common words, but hey, they're different. An untrained Cebuano will not understand, much less speak, Tagalog and vice-versa. My wife is Tagalog and my children will grow up speaking Tagalog and English because we live in Metro Manila. I don't mind that at all. I'll be teaching them Cebuano in due time. This post is n...

Matagal nang pinag-uusapan ito and, admittedly, ngayon ko lang nakita. I'm amazed. Paano kaya nila inorganize ito? #

I'm researching the internet about the Filipino psyche: how a Filipino thinks, what his aspirations are, and things of that sort. This research is related to a project I'm engaged in right now. In the process, I came across a lot of blogs that either talks about or makes references to the Filipino psyche. Among the many entries I found, I find this post very interesting: http://blog.totalphilippines.com/filipino_dream/20080813-18050-The-Filipino-Dream It opens and ends with these paragraphs: The once famous American Dream have already been absorbed by many cultures around the world. The American Dream is not exclusive for the Americans alone, but for the global citizen. . . . To achieve their goal is the most important thing for a Filipino. To give their family a better life, to help others, share their knowledge to their fellows, and bring smile to everyone, even in times of problem. This is what the true Filipino dream is. I like the way she puts it. The American Dream, to Fi...

When a friend referred me to the Proudly Pinoy site, I didn't know what was waiting for me there would captivate me. I saw there a the coolest logo I ever found that captured the Filipino spirit, as well as the Filipino pride. I couldn't explain it yet. Two friends saw the logo too, and they too were captivated, and I meant, totally captivated. They had all praises for the logo. Again, they couldn't explain it. Reading about the logo further, you will see that it is the one voted best among 297 entries . Amazing process they had there. Perhaps it's why we can't explain it. We can only appreciate it, with our hearts. All I can say at this point is I like its simplicity, round shape and the red and yellow colors shaped like two hands carrying the round thing, which to me looks like the globe. The star smack in the middle of the globe is powerful. It's like, hey, Filipinos, we're making our own mark on the globe! Go, look at the logo yourself and tell us what ...

When we were in high school, we asked, "What did they {the 'old guys'} do to our country?" In as little as 20 years, we're already the 'old guys.' One of my high school classmates ran for Congress. While I remember this classmate to be a bright and passionate guy, in my unguarded moment, I found it difficult to reconcile this man with that classmate of mine. Time passed. I didn't notice it, or was not conscious of it. That young lad (like myself) back then, became a full-grown man, and he was running for Congress. In my discomfort I asked him why, on earth, did it cross his mind to run for a political office? His reply stunned me: "We're 35. If we don't move now, who will move? When these old guys fade, who would replace them? Who would take care of this country?" What immediately ran in me was, "who cares about who'll run this country? Certainly it can't be us, for goodness sake." I was passing the buck. You see, th...