⎮ 281 ⎮ i FILIPINO GENERATIONS IN A CHANGING LANDSCAPE ⎮ 281 ⎮ iii FILIPINO GENERATIONS IN A CHANGING LANDSCAPE edited by AMARYLLIS T. TORRES, LAURA L. SAMSON AND MANUEL P. DIAZ Philippine Social Science Council 2015 Copyright 2015 by the Philippine Social Science Council (PSSC) PSSCenter, Commonwealth Avenue Diliman, Quezon City Philippines All rights reserved. Inquiries on the reproduction of sections of this volume should be addressed to: Philippine Social Science Council (PSSC) PSSCenter, Commonwealth Avenue Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines email: [email protected] The National Library of the Philippines CIP Data Recommended entry: Filipino generations in a changing landscape / edited by Amaryllis T. Torres, Laura L. Samson and Manuel P. Diaz. -- Diliman, Quezon City : Philippine Social Science Council, [c2015]. p. ; cm ISBN 978-971-8514-36-8 1. Social change -- Philippines. 2. Philippines -- Social condition. I. Torres, Amaryllis T. II. Samson, Laura L. III. Diaz, Manuel P. 303.4 HM831 2015 P520150132 Editors: Amaryllis T. Torres, Laura L. Samson and Manuel P. Diaz Cover design: Mary Jo Candice B. Salumbides Book design and layout: Karen B. Barrios CONTENTS Introduction: Filipino Generations in a Changing Landscape vii Amaryllis T. Torres Generations: The Tyranny of Expectations 1 Randolf S. David Three Generations of Iraya Mangyans: Roles and Dilemmas in the Modern World 9 Aleli B. Bawagan Palaweños, Do We Know Where We’re Going To?: The Dynamics of Generations Y and Z 27 Lorizza Mae C. Posadas and Rowena G. Fernandez Tsinoy in Puerto Princesa: From the American Period to Contemporary Times, a Story of Two Generations 48 Michael Angelo A. Doblado and Oscar L. Evangelista Dynamics of Reproductive Rights: Mindscape of the Iloko Culture 66 Mary Grace C. Baywong, Diero Thomas R. Arios, Ranieri B. Manzano, Cathrine C. Lagodgod, Channelle Florida M. Sioson, and Mary Jean T. Soliven On Migration Selectivity and the Propensity to Remit: Faces of Eastern Visayan Labor Migrants 84 Marieta Bañez Sumagaysay Binondo Yesteryears Today: Continuity and Change 105 Celestina P. Boncan Ober da Bakod—The Emergence of a Gated Community in the Philippines: The Case of Philam Homes Subdivision, Quezon City, Philippines 130 Louie Benedict Ignacio Configurations of Urban Spaces inside the University of the Philippines Diliman Campus in the Neoliberal Age: A Critical Perspective 151 Dakila Kim P. Yee Building the Case for CSR: Philippine Corporate Discourse on the Role of Business in Social Development from the 1970s to the Present 171 Erwin F. Rafael Grooming the Wards in Leyte-Samar Islands: What’s New? 191 Ladylyn L. Mangada Failure to Unravel Success: The Difficulties of Ang Ladlad LGBT Party in Gaining Electoral Legitimacy 206 Daniel Z. Bernardo Filipino Fonoloji: Ilang Pagbabago sa mga Tunog 221 Jay-Ar M. Igno Sa Ibang Mundo, Sikat Ako: Isang Pag-aaral sa mga Biglang-Sikat na Social Media Celebrities sa Pilipinas 234 Jerome P. Lucas Read between the Signs: The Jeepney Linguistic System 256 Ann Louise C. De Leon The Jejemon as Symptom and Slippage: Notes on Issues of Power and Identity in Media Literacy and (Mass) Communication 271 Christian Tablazon ⎮ vii INTRODUCTION FILIPINO GENERATIONS IN A CHANGING LANDSCAPE Amaryllis T. Torres As long as there is life on earth, every living thing is in a state of flux: growing, decaying, or dying; adapting, transforming, or mutating. Changes do not only occur in the physical universe; it is also evident in human society and its various organizations. Culture, norms, and values; social structures, interpersonal relationships and lifestyles; language and communication; philosophical and practical knowledge; power, authority, and governance; production, wealth and the economy, are among the factors in human life that are in constant flux. Changes in society can be examined from different angles. One approach has been to examine changes and continuities in terms of generations, taking into acount the defining characteristics of a set of individuals within a given period. The concept of generations is nuanced: it can be used to refer to kinship ties, bound by the average period between the birth of parents and the birth of their offspring. It has also been used to refer to particular age groups, or cohorts, who share certain historical and social characteristics (Biggs, 2007; Pilcher, 1994). However, there is a close overlap between the two definitions: it is difficult to study the shared characteristics of age cohorts without also considering the phenomenon of adult aging and intergenerational relationships (Biggs, 2007). In their study of Palaweños, Posadas, and Fernandez cite Bronfenbrenner (2005), who points out that each generation lives in a specific time dimension where attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are influenced by various internal and external factors, from supposedly innate traits to familial, societal, cultural, and historical forces. Among these factors are globalization, individualism, consumerism, modernization, and technology. They bring changes in human development, and contribute to the formation and evolution of individual goals within and across generations. These assertions are well-illustrated in the keynote message of David, who gives a thoughtful account of the angst and dilemmas faced by his children, as they entered the world of adulthood as the offspring of well-known personalities. Each one had to devise a strategy to assert their own identities, and to be respected for themselves and not merely in association with their parents. In an entirely different context, Bawagan recounts the struggle between generations of Mangyans, as viii ⎮ Filipino Generations in a Changing Landscape they negotiate their identities in relation to changing influences on their lives. These factors include access to formal education, acquisition of lifelong learning skills, increased interactions with lowlanders for work and other concerns, new forms and relations of production, and the neglect of traditional practices in favor of ‘modern’ expectations and aspirations. Apart from examining intergenerational relationships, the articles in this volume provide useful insights into the following processes of social change: continuities and discontinuities; adaptations and transformations; and new beginnings. CONTINUITIES AND DISCONTINUITIES Two studies on the Filipino Chinese demonstrate the range of methodological possibilities in the study of generations. Both Boncan and the tandem of Doblado and Evangelista used family history to trace continuities and discontinuities across generations. However, whereas Boncan focused on intergenerational changes experienced by one Chinese family from Spanish colonial times to the present, Doblado and Evangelista tell the story of four pioneering Chinese families in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, from the late 19th century to the contemporary period. Boncan’s account provide detailed descriptions of Binondo, and enables us to travel back in time through its streets, houses, commerce and landscapes. One is surprised to find out who the original residents of Binondo were; which include Chinese families who remain prominent today, and also well-known Spanish mestizos. Commerce defined Binondo in yesteryears, and this remains the “signature stamp” of the place, multiplied a hundred fold in terms of volume of trade and earnings. But we are saddened to learn that Binondo’s narrow streets, jampacked with vehicles today, have replaced spaces formerly occupied by picturesque and tree-lined plazas. The streets, mostly renamed in recent decades, also tell us who the more important families of Binondo are today. Doblado and Evangelista’s account of the Tsinoy of Puerto Princesa dwells more on the families’ movements, especially as they constantly traversed the distance between their former villages in China and Palawan. It describes how the choice of wives changed across generations: from selecting Chinese women from the mainland in earlier generations, to marriages with Filipino women in the present generation. They also describe the evolving identities of the Chinese, from that of being jiuquiao (a migrant), to being Chinese mestizos, to becoming assimilated as Filipinos. Similarly, Boncan describes the assimilation of the family of Ygnacio Jaobungcang into Philippine society, so that they no longer thought of themselves as foreigners but as “sons of the country.” Introduction ⎮ ix Conversion to Christianity was one factor that hastened the assimilation of Chinese families into Philippine lifeways. Children were educated in Catholic schools, entered the professions, engaged in business, or became political leaders. Through baptism and generational change, the names of the Chinese clans also became Filipinized. Doblado and Evangelista conclude that despite the inroads of cultural change, core Chinese values have remained unchanged in the clans they studied. Among these is the importance of close family ties. But it is not only the Filipino Chinese who place importance on the family. Sumagaysay relates that among the more common push factors for migration is the desire to help the family – by helping their families to overcome financial difficulties, through the provision of educational assistance, or by becoming family breadwinners. Very few said they wanted to work abroad for their personal advancement. The continuing centrality of the family in Philippine society is likewise described by Ignacio in his study of a gated community. Middle-class respondents stated that they