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Page 1 of 2
Information is power. Whoever controls the shaping of the databases of information (note 1) that defines a country also dictates the fate of the nation and its people. To illustrate this point, the Philippines is referred to still as the "Philippine Islands" by many foreigners, international institutions, organizations, governments, publications and internet sites. While seemingly innocuous, "Philippine Islands" conjures an obscure collection of islands somewhere in the world and emphasizes the colonial past of the Philippines, as if it still remains a colony of a superpower, like the United States. Other simple terms, like "bandidos", "brown race", "insurrection", "insurrectos", etc. — integrated in historical books and other publications written by foreigners about the Philippines and Filipinos — have immense impact on how foreigners (and even Filipinos) view the Philippines and Filipino people.
This perception of the Philippines and the Filipino people continues to be reflected in many of the more popular commercial internet sites or even in some academic archives. Many of these sites have very scarce information about the Philippines and Filipinos; if any at all, they are based mainly from outside or dated sources. As a result, the body of information seldom reflect the perspective of Filipinos. At worst, they are inaccurate or antiquated.
These misrepresentations and marginalization lead to the current situation where the Philippines and Filipinos get the attention of the international press and policy makers only when there is news about natural or manmade disasters, kidnappings, political corruption, scandals, terrorist acts, "people power", etc. — which in turn further compound the misrepresentation and marginalization of the Philippines and Filipinos.
As a result, today, when you introduce yourself around the world as a Filipino, some overeager foreigners are very likely to focus on discussing the shoe collection of Imelda Marcos — as if the aforementioned topic is the embodiment of the Philippines and Filipinos. This reflects an utter case of ignorance and insensitivity of these foreigners. But who can blame many of these foreigners if many Filipinos themselves took pride of the creation of the internet virus that crippled many computers around the world, and considered it as the pinnacle of Filipino expertise and Philippine technology.
By default, therefore, we allowed foreigners to define us and our nation. At worst, we took this foreign perspective as our own reality. A dedicated number of Filipinos are trying to redress this situation — to provide a more balanced presentation of the Philippines and her people, from a Filipino perspective.
This internet site, Likas-Philippines, from the term "innate" or "natural" in the Filipino language, aims to contribute to this collective pursuit by consolidating, into one site, the efforts of Filipinos, scholars and their kindreds who have endeavored to provide more accurate information about the Philippines and the Filipino people.
At the same time, Likas-Philippines will attempt to correct the tendency of Filipinos, including some Filipino historians and nationalists, to over-compensate and romanticize the portrayal of the Philippines and Filipinos — in regard history and origins. The other extreme is the use of an ideological framework to define or rationalize the current plight of the Philippines and the Filipino people.
To address the aforementioned situations, Likas-Philippines will attempt to present differing perspectives rather than just the "official line" or voices from one perspective in interpreting Philippine history (note 2), for example.
Likas-Philippines was created also, with "Filipinos abroad" as a special audience — to provide Filipinos abroad a mode of maintaining ties with the Motherland. This kinship with the Motherland should provide "Filipinos abroad" a sense of roots and identity, as they are being integrated in other cultures.
More important, Likas-Philippines is being developed as part of a more comprehensive database, the webpage, so that Filipinos and others who are interested to learn more about the Philippines will have a better understanding of the Filipino people and their culture, in the context of a world that is becoming a more global community.
Unlike several Philippine-oriented internet sites, Likas-Philippines will avoid overcommercialization of the endeavor. This will include respect of privacy of those who visit the site. Be sure to read our policies on privacy, as well as the disclaimer page.
Read "Help build Likas-Philippines" and "Likas-Philippines Projects" to find out more on how you may contribute in developing this webpage. Or, better still, become a member of the Likas-Philippines Team.