20 - Am I a Filipino?

Do I have what it takes to be a Filipino? The one question that lingered in my mind. The only question that I wanted to ask myself whenever I played a Korean pop song on my phone, whenever I embraced the culture of another instead of my own. “I have what it takes to be a Filipino.” Nine words, every day I practiced on how to declare those nine words with passion and with confidence. But, I realized that the more I practiced, the more I doubted myself. At the end of the day, I wondered if I have what it takes to be a Filipino or not. Until, one day, my question answered itself.

“What does it take to be a Filipino? What do I have to do in order to consider myself a true Filipino?” I asked myself. “Do I have to pay taxes, do community service, or donate to Philippine charities?” I kept thinking of ways on how to have what it takes to be a Filipino until my uncle overheard what I was saying. He approached me and said, “Nephew, you need to embody the Filipino spirit in order to have what it takes to be a true Filipino,” he said with a smile on his face. He patted my head as he left, and soon, I was left alone with my thoughts, I kept wondering if I embodied this Filipino spirit.

Whoa, wait, what is this “Filipino spirit” that my uncle briefly mentioned? Well, I returned to my uncle and asked him, and he said that the Filipino spirit has these three things: love for your country, love for your family, and respect for your elders. But wait, Carlos P. Romulo, the one who wrote the poem “I am a Filipino.” He said that a true Filipino must have courage with defiance. Yes, the courage with defiance that sent our forefathers into battle—against alien foes, and against foreign oppressors! Yes, a true Filipino must have the courage to not let invaders trample his sacred shore. He also mentioned about seeds in his poem, “In my blood runs the immortal seeds of heroes. Seeds that bloomed down the centuries in deeds of courage and defiance.” Surely, these are the seeds that gave life to Lapu-Lapu. Seeds that drove Diego Silang, and Jose Rizal, with the courage to put an end to all injustice. These are the seeds that EVERY FILIPINO has.

I have most of the things in the Filipino spirit. I love my country, I am patriotic and I value my glorious Filipino past with an obligation to an uncertain future; I respect my elderly, whenever I meet someone older than me, I say po and opo to them; lastly, I have what Carlos P. Romulo said—courage and defiance, I am not afraid to speak up and fight for what I believe is right. Despite that there was one question remaining in order to have what it takes to be a Filipino: do I love my family? Suddenly, I remembered my experiences back in my original province—Leyte.

I immediately remembered of the whistling wind, the billowing waves in the rivers, and the sight of my loving family. When I was a kid, my parents and I often visited my relatives in Leyte mostly during the Christmas season. While we were there, I realized that I had a very large family and what surprised me the most is that they were so very welcoming. I miss the times when we would enter their house and my family members would all come down and greet us “Maupay na kalup.”

I participated in various fiestas, I also tended to the farm and I even helped my cousins speak English, as I was the only one of my relatives in Leyte who fluently spoke the language. Lastly, on the day of Christmas morning, I realized the answer to my final question. On that day, I gathered wood and I helped my uncles roast beef and chicken outside of the house. I played with my younger cousins and I exchanged gifts with them. At the end of the day, all of my family members gathered around in one big salo-salo. At that moment, I realized that I loved my family.

And that is why I have what it takes to be a Filipino. Going back, in order to consider yourself a true Filipino, you must have these things: love for your country, love for your family, respect for your elderly, and last but not least, courage with defiance. You don’t have to wear a big T-shirt that says “Filipino” all over it, you don’t have to ride the jeepney all day from point A to point B, heck, you don’t even have to sing Black Eyed Peas’ Bebot, no. As long as you love your country, love your family, respect your elders, and have the courage with defiance, you can confidently consider yourself a true Filipino.

But wait, before I end my speech, I consider you all to ask yourselves this: do YOU consider yourself to a true Filipino?

I am Dartegnian Velarde and I am a Filipino, born of freedom—freedom for myself, my children, and my children’s children—forever.