“Ultimately, the definition of a true blue Filipino is perhaps one who is proud of this country unconditionally warts and all”
THERE is this interesting social media account of the current Queen of Spain Letizia having Filipino roots which would make the heir apparent to the Spanish throne Princess Leonor part Filipino.
The article went on to say that Queen Letizia is 12.5 per cent Filipino, making her about 6.5 per cent Filipino. By Filipino, I mean having native blood.
Another article, however, is saying although Queen Letizia’s family on her mother side came to the Philippines in the 19th century when the country was still a Spanish colony, none of them ever married an Indio or native individual.
They would, however, have been called Filipinos nonetheless because Filipinos at that time were Spaniards born in the Philippines.
The case of Queen Letizia’s great grandmother who was born in Manila in 1918 or 1919, is a bit trickier.
This is because, by that time, the country was already an American colony so it is harder to classify her citizenship.
But if she stayed in the Philippines till after the ratification of the 1935 Philippine Constitution before moving to Spain, she would have been considered a Filipino citizen.
But does bloodline really matter at all to be considered having Filipino roots?
I would have thought that having a part of one’s family staying here for two or three generations would have qualified them as having Filipino roots regardless of bloodlines.
It would be nice if Queen Letizia and the soon to be monarch Princess Leonor will acknowledge their family’s connection to the Philippines but, in the overall scheme of things, that is no longer important.
What is more relevant in this day and age in view of the Alice Guo case and the ongoing WPS issue, is the question of what it means to be a true blue and patriotic Filipino and how can this be manifested.
There are those who attach as a condition that one must have a native Filipino blood to be true blue Filipinos.
But today’s Philippine society like many other countries have become multi-cultural.
There are now fewer Filipinos who have pure native blood.
This means, therefore, that being a loyal and patriotic Filipino does not depend on how much native blood flows in one’s veins.
And, as an example of this, one of the leading lawmakers – who is leading the investigation on the true identity of suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo is Senator Sherwin Gatchalian whose ethnicity as we know like many of us is Chinese — is probing himself to be truer and a more patriotic Filipino compared to some people out there.
Due to his tireless sleuthing, he was able to uncover a lot about who Alice Guo really is.
When the issue of the WPS also first erupted, one of the first people to volunteer to fight was the Caucasian looking but fiercely Filipino former Secretary of the DILG Rafael Alunan.
And who are those parroting the lines of the other side?
They are the ones who look like what we would call katutubong Filipinos.
Defining who is a true blue Filipino is therefore a little more complicated today than say the time immediately before the Second World War.
And, as the two cases just mentioned have shown, patriotism does not depend on the color of one’s skin or bloodline.
One area where being a Filipino can be manifested is in sports.
There are some athletes whose heritage is Filipino who competed representing another country but then decided to represent the Philippines because one of the parents is Filipino.
There are also some who have represented the country but decided to represent the country of one parent probably due to passport issues.
To those of us who travel regularly, passports could be a huge inconvenience. Because of this, there are unfortunately many who would willingly exchange their Philippine passport for more powerful passports to escape the inconvenience.
Are these people less patriotic?
Ordinarily, yes.
But because our country allows dual citizenship, maybe one can be half half so to speak.
Ultimately, the definition of a true blue Filipino is perhaps one who is proud of this country unconditionally warts and all. But I am afraid that even that doesn’t really say it all.