Chapter 2

A Nation Divided

Divide et impera: Divide and conquer. The Philippines stands as "a nation divided against itself: divided between urban and rural, rich and poor, majorities and minorities, privileged and underprivileged."

-Ferdinand E. Marcos

Divided by natural barriers, mountains and bodies of water, diverse languages and dialects, and ethnic cultures, the group of islands located on the Pacific rim of Asia were easily conquered by the colonial powers. The strategic location of the Philippines, as well as the area's rich natural resources, has attracted world powers since the sixteenth century. General Arthur MacArthur, father of Douglas MacArthur and military governor-general of the Philippines, described the unique strategic potential of the Philippines as "the finest group of islands in the world," whose "strategic location is unexcelled by that of any position in the globe."'

The Philippine archipelago is composed of some 7,100 islands spread over approximately 496,400 square nautical miles. It has a total land area of 300,000 square kilometers with one of the world's longest coastlines.' Most settlements are found in coastal areas, the rest in the mountains, creating a dichotomy between lowlanders and uplanders (taga-bundok). Sociocultural changes took place more rapidly in coastal areas than in the mountains. Those changes set the lowland Filipinos apart from their mountain-dweller kin and produced another dichotomy: the majority and the minority.' The majority was more exposed to Western and Christian influences, whereas the minority "maintained the greatest links with their indigenous cultural heritage and ... least accepted the colonial structures imposed by the Spanish. "4 Other factors contributed to the differences between the city and the countryside. The countryside (probinsya) depended on farming and fishing, whereas the cities controlled the industries and business. Manila, the principal city and capital of the Philippines, is the political, economic, and cultural center of the country. Each year hordes of migrants from the provinces flock to the city. The city's glittering lights, its apparent promise of opportunity, and the harsh conditions of the provinces encouraged migration.

Enclaves for the rich and the poor are strewn throughout the crowded and polluted city. In one study an estimated 1.8 million people, or 30% of Manila's residents, live in slums.' According to a study by the West German government, 34% to 40% of the population of Manila are squatters.' Poverty pervades the areas where houses are usually made of cardboard and scrap materials. Some dwellings are even constructed over stagnant water. According to a World Bank report, "The 1977 urban poverty income estimated for the Philippines was P1,877 ($250) per person per year. Thirty-nine percent of families in slums of major cities have per capita income below that sum. In metropolitan Manila, 35 percent of the population, or about 2.1 million people, live below the poverty level; they account for 30 percent of the urban poor in the Philippines. "' No one can escape the contrast between the hovels by railroad tracks and muddy canals and the big houses secured by high walls and guarded by dogs and armed security guards.

Another important dichotomy among Filipinos is the shade of their skins: mestizo or non-mestizo. Mestizos are individuals of mixed parentage-Filipino mixed with either Chinese, Spanish, or American. Usually of fairer complexion, mestizos are prevalent among the wealthier classes.

There are at least eight (lowland) ethnolinguistic groups and an array of other dialect subgroups. Manila is the capital and the center of the Tagalog region, so speakers are perceived as culturally superior by others as well as by themselves. The speakers of Cebuanos are the most numerous native speakers, but most Filipinos are at least familiar with Tagalog, the language of the capital city.

Within ethnolinguistic groups, one finds variations that cause subtle if not obvious ethnocentric biases; for example, Tagalog is spoken by most inhabitants of central and southern Luzon, but one finds differences in accent, vocabulary, and some traditions in each town or municipality. One can see these differences even in towns separated by only a few miles. Stereotypes within and among ethnic groups develop. Members of the same ethnic groups tend to cluster in Manila's universities, in some urban settlements, and in neighborhoods and civic organizations.

Despite their ethnic diversity, most Filipinos conform to a single religion. The Philippines is a predominantly Roman Catholic country; most Filipinos are baptized Catholics. Some 85 % profess Catholicism, 5 % are Muslims, and the remaining 10 % are composed of various religions, including other Christian denominations such as the Philippine Independent Church, Iglesia ni Kristo (Church of Christ), the Methodist church, and other Protestant groups! Though Christianity and Islam have been in the Philippines for more than 300 years, folk religions or animistic beliefs such as spiritism are still practiced.