By John Anthony F. Almerino
Postcolonial critique is
straightforward when it comes to enumerating and defining the (almost entirely)
negative effects of colonialism to the colonized country. Frantz Fanon (1961)
views colonialism as essentially destructive due to its dehumanizing
tendencies, claiming that colonial subjugation inflicts mental and physical
damage upon the colonized people and denies them of their very own culture.[1]
The Philippines was under
Spanish colonial rule for more than 300 years. Early historians marked the
beginning of Philippine history in the 16th century in concert with
the Spanish discovery of the islands. But pre-colonial evidence (in the form of
artifacts and written documents) confirmed that a Filipino civilization existed
prior to the arrival of the Spaniards.[2] A unique Filipino culture was already budding before Spain eventually found the
archipelago and “civilized” it.
This fact considerably
undermines the Spaniard’s attempts of justifying more than 300 years of
colonial rule other than for simply advancing their national interests. The imposition
of Western ideals and values against the subaltern culture is founded upon the
baseless belief on the “backwardness, irrationality, and wildness of the East”
and the need of Western intervention to civilize it.[3] Edward Said (1978) refers to these prejudiced intellectual assumptions as
“Orientalism”.
Postcolonialism is vehement in insisting that
colonization is bereft of any moral justification. Said describes Orientalism
as nothing more but a social construct propagated by the West to self-justify
the moral implications of colonization. The suppression of the native culture
during colonial subjugation often leads to the decay (and eventual death) of
the said culture, which in turn creates complications in the social and beliefs
system of the colonized. For instance, the destructive effects of Spanish
colonization are noticeable in the daily manifestations of modern Filipino
culture. Very few Cebuanos for example can count beyond ten in native tongue,
often mistaking the Spanish diez (10),
onze (11), or veinte (20) as Cebuano. Furthermore, the native belief system of Anitos is now rarely practiced except
for a few mountain tribes in the country. Majority of Filipinos are either
Roman Catholics or Muslim, and most of them presently denounce the native religion
with derogatory terms such as “pagan”, “savage”, and even “satanic”. Another
critique that comes to mind is the divisive system of government that the
Spaniards imposed during colonization which allegedly gave rise to regionalism
and regionalist mentality.
The celebration of the
Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day scrutinized under postcolonial thought is
therefore futile and hypocritical. A good number of arguments against the
continuance of this specific friendship day can easily be formulated. They are
as follows:
Argument
One: The Philippines and Spain Has Very Little Diplomatic Relations
It’s quite ironic to note that
despite 300 years of occupation, we presently have very little diplomatic
contact with Spain. A few state visits here and there, has not really amounted
to any significant improvement in our relations. Spain ranks only as
Philippines’ 28th largest trading partner in 2011, way below
compared to other countries which we had virtually no contact since
globalization (such as Canada).[4] Furthermore Spain is not a significant political ally in terms of current
international issues, and has not exerted any effort to back us up. Defense
Minister Jose Bono, a member of the Spanish delegation, captures the relations
between the two countries succinctly as being comparable to a tree where there
are “more roots than fruits”, saying that bilateral cooperation between the two
has not really flowered.
Argument
Two: Destruction of Culture Is Something Not Worth Commemorating
While many Filipinos consider
the great contribution of Spanish influence to Filipino culture, there are also
a considerable number of people who abide by postcolonial critique in believing
that Spanish colonization only brought the destruction of our country’s native
culture. The death of archaic Filipino words, the rise of regionalism, the
antagonism between Christians of Muslims, can all be attributed to Spain’s 300+
years of divisive and disruptive reign.
Argument
Three: There Is Actually No Friendship Between Us And Spain (And Perhaps There
Will Never Be)
When Spain sold us to the US
under the Treaty of Paris in 1898, all
Filipino revolutionaries could have probably uttered “good riddance” in relief.
In fact, prior to the treaty, many were so excited about this so called “liberation”
that Emilio Aguinaldo celebrated independence way too prematurely (the
Spanish-American War was still going on) on June 12, 1898. After Spain ceded
control of the archipelago to the Americans, there has been no contact with our
most influential Colonizer ever since. The camaraderie and friendship that the
Friendship Day with Spain promotes is something that was not there in the first
place and probably will never be realized.
Argument
Four: Neocolonialism
[1] The
Wretched of the Earth (1961) by Frantz Fannon
[2] See The
Laguna Copperplate Inscription by Hector Santos at http://www.bibingka.com/dahon/lci/lci.htm#lci_graphics
[3] See Orientalism
(1978) by Edward Said for a more thorough discussion
[4] Statistics from Our Spanish Ties by Babe Romualdez. The Philippine Star. Retrieved Aug. 13,
2014 at http://www.philstar.com/opinion/2013/09/22/1236691/our-spanish-ties
[5] Ibid.
[6] “Philippines is
only country in Asia to receive aid from Spain -ambassador". InterAksyon. Retrieved Aug. 13, 2014 at
http://interaksyon.com/article/53204/philippines-is-only-country-in-asia-to-receive-aid-from-spain---ambassador
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