Galanido, Naomi Jieil S. Prof.

Dwight David Diestro

HIST 1 G July 03, 2017

PHILIPPINES: A ONE FAMILY

The Philippines has one of the richest and most cultivated culture and history in the

world. We, the Filipinos, were colonized by the Spaniards, followed by the Americans and later

on, the Japanese yet, we fought and struggled for our freedom. We clashed with our invaders,

hand-in-hand with our fellow Filipinos, our fellow brothers and sisters, our family. Moreover,

through many centuries and many foreign intruders, we, Filipinos, kept our customs and grew

stronger with our culture, our family and our freedom in mind; and that has made the Filipinos

more respectable than any other.

STRUGGLE IN THE PAST

Filipinos, throughout many centuries, are known for many things: hospitality, culture,

respect and many more. Nonetheless, we are recognized by other nations as one of the countries

with stronger bonds with their family members.

As time passed by and even after our country were invaded by foreigners, Filipinos still

highly value the concept of family more than anything -whether they are related by blood,

adoptive or intentional. We may have change our attitude through time and mixed cultures

however, our respect and bond with our family grew stronger through the struggles we have

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experienced together. This led us to care mostly for the well-being of those who are under the

same roof as us and that only motivates the head of the family in providing a brighter future for

those who are under his wing.

Back in the past, Filipinos believed that having a handful of children can bring great

benefit in to the family -and maybe it has its truthfulness in it since, speculations show that the

more offspring one has at that time, the more hands will be able to help in the chores and to tend

the land. That theory may still hold truth until now but, the time is different and the world has

change.

My grandfather, Simon Galanido, the patriarch during his time has six daughters and four

sons he loved deeply. He shared the same characteristics as any Filipino could ever have. He

tended to the land my family own to serve as a living for his family as it was also the source of

their income. However, resources were hard to come by when the Japanese entered the

Philippine territory and took over the country. Food was hard to come by as the Japanese took

most of the countrys resources for themselves and it broke my grandfather and his familys

heart when two more of his children passed away when the Imperial of Japan occupied the

Commonwealth of the Philippines during the World War II.

When people are at war against multiple invaders who tells them who they should be and

how they should act, believe that those being oppressed and told who they can and cannot be will

fight for what they think is right however, having casualties will always be a part of a war, just as

how those who have passed away will always be part of the family.

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BABY BIRDS NEED TO LEAVE THE NEST

A family can be compared to as a birds nest; the mother bird will continuously provide

the baby bird the foods and necessities it needs to live until it fully matures. It is within the

identity of the Filipino parents to constantly watch over their children as they grow up. The

connection between the parents and their children are so strong that sometimes it leads to the

point that even after the children have married someone and have created their own family, they

still live with their parents. The extension of the family will always be considered as part of the

immediate family.

Education in the Philippines has always been considered as one of the foundations that

needed to be fortified to have a bright career and future ahead. Even the Department of

Education in the country has been given the highest budget for the year of 2017 with around PHP

543.2 Billion (Rappler.com, 2017).

With that said, my family, both on my mother and father side, has valued education and

believed that solidifying the ground and paving the path of their children, teaching their sons and

daughters -and even their nephews and nieces -can give them the future they have always desire

of. Even back in their days, my parents, uncles and aunties have worked their minds to create the

life theyve always wanted. Some of my aunties took the course of nursing and serve in different

countries such as Laos and Vietnam when they were needed.

And now that the Philippines, after all these years, have also fortified their relationship

with many other countries especially the United States of America, many individuals or even

families have been considering setting their foot in the land of the free and home of the brave.

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And someday, my family, as a whole, can may be go to the USA and visit the family -my aunts

and uncles, cousins, nephews and nieces -I havent seen in years nor have I seen at all.

BE STRONG FOR FREEDOM

Abraham Lincoln once quoted, Government of the people, by the people, for the people,

shall not perish from the Earth.

Ferdinand E. Marcos had been the President of the Philippines since 1965 to 1986. Only

less than a year after Marcos was elected as the new President of the Philippines, both of my

parents arrived to this world. According to Mandrilla, during the stay of Marcos in the

Malacaang, the Philippines lost two decades of development, became the sick man of Asia,

work conditions rapidly deteriorated. Not only that but also, once he declared Martial Law on

September 21, 1972, he violated human rights and abused his power as the President of the

Philippines. And within all those times, both my parents grew up in an environment where they

were both any second they may be caught by the military for doing nothing illegal. Nobody

would have thought that a fellow Filipino would invade its own country and its people. The

Filipinos were oppressed, tortured and were exiled for the crimes they did not commit.

When Martial Law happened and the people of the Philippines fought hard for their

freedom and right, both of my parents, George Galanido and Connie Balobalo, were both

university students yet, even though they were still students, that didnt prevent them to fight for

their right and for every Filipinos right. They went to rallies and fought their way in; they even

almost got themselves caught but, they werent afraid -and if they were, they didnt show it

because, what matters was they wanted to be free and they desired freedom for the people.

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WHO THE GALANIDOS ARE TODAY

Ohana means family and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten. The

quotation that have struck me the most since I was a child. The said quotation really resembles

the Filipino characteristic because, the Filipinos have the kind of attitude that will never abandon

a family member who are in need; like our OFWs.

In my family, there has never been an OFW but, most of my aunts and uncles have been

living different countries for years to the point I have never meet some of my cousins or my

nephews and nieces but, they never stop lending a hand when we needed them the most like

when my father had his bypass surgery. They were there for us even when they were thousand

miles away because they were family and we were family.

Generations of the Galanidos have passed just as years have. We were once all together

but now, we are separated and living in different countries just like the OFWs of the Philippines

whove left the country so they could grant their children an adequate future. Moreover, Filipinos

never forget; just like how my father and his siblings remember the twins they were supposed to

have as part of the family and they passed on the memory to their children and so will we

because without the past of the Galanidos, we will never be here.

The Philippines has been through a lot and even up until now, it is still suffering and

struggling but, with all the fighting, it never loses hope in finding the light and pave its path to

freedom. The Philippines is like a big family that the only thing it wanted for its children is to

have the bright future they all deserve. The more the country struggled, the more we understand

what it needed, the stronger the bond and beliefs we hone and this made the Philippines a more

respected country.

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 References

Mandrilla, J. P. (2016). Marcos years marked 'golden age' of PH economy? Look at the data. Rappler.
Retrieved from http://www.rappler.com/views/imho/124682-marcos-economy-golden-age-
philippines

Rappler.com. (2017). DepEd receives P543.2B in 2017 national budget. Rappler. Retrieved from
http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/issues/budget-watch/158147-deped-2017-budget

http://www.philippinecountry.com/philippine_culture/common_family_traits.html