'Pilipino ka ba?'

The Philippines marks its 128th Independence Day on June 12, 2026. The celebration commemorates the day the country was freed from over 300 years of colonial rule by Spain. The author, born and raised in the Philippines, but of Spanish descent and often mistaken for a foreigner, is often asked, "Pilipino ka ba?"

I once rode a taxi from UP Diliman to Cubao and the driver was extraordinarily cheerful and chatty. He talked about the weather and the traffic in English and I politely answered back in English. Then he suddenly asked, "What country are you from?" I said, "Philippines." He looked at me and asked, "Pilipino ka ba?" and I said, "Opo."

That was not the only time I was mistaken for a foreigner. Even my journalism classmate in Diliman asked me in the middle of the semester, "What country are you from?" and I said, "Bataan."

Our family had a house in Bataan at that time because our late father was the head of the Ford car plant there. 

However, we did not have any relatives there because our father was from Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija while our mother, now in her 80s, is from Alabang.

I remember when we first moved to Bataan and how my classmates laughed at me because I was asked to read in class and I pronounced tomato as "to-mah-toh" (Australian) instead of "tom-may-toe" (American).

I was seven years old at that time and I didn't like being laughed at so that night, I told our Mom, "I don't want to go to school anymore!" 

Our family had come from Australia before moving to Bataan because our Dad worked for Ford Australia. One of my happy experiences there is going to farm not far from our house in Geelong. Visitors were free to roam in the farm and harvest vegetables and fruits, including large, red tomatoes, my favorite.

After the incident in our school in Bataan, Mom explained that in Australia, tomatoes are called to-mah-tohs but in the Philippines they are called, to-may-toes and I asked, "Why? Is it because they're smaller?"

But being laughed at in class was not the only reason I didn't want to go to school anymore. I also found it very strange that my schoolmates were not "friendly." In Australia, it was common to greet everyone, even people we did not know, "Hi" or "Good morning."

In my first days in school in Bataan, I also greeted everyone "Hello" or "Hi" or "Good morning" and they didn't respond at all.

I did realize later that it is not a common practice to say hi to "strangers" in our country. I also learned that my schoolmates were actually kind and friendly even though they did not greet me back.

I remember a discussion in our History of Philippine Nationalism class in UP Diliman. The professor floated questions about Filipino identify. He asked us questions like, "Who is a Filipino?" "What does being a Filipino mean?" "Are you a Filipino even though your father is an American?" "Are you still a Filipino if you have lived abroad for many years?" 

I found the discussion very interesting because I am often, until now, mistaken for a foreigner.

Once, I bought softdrinks at a sari-sari store in Makati. The owner was an elderly lady who told her helper, "Bilisan mo, foreigner yata yan eh."

Another time, in the mall, two shop assistants were talking about me right in front of me. The guy said, "Foreigner yata yan," and the lady said, "Oo, foreigner yan." Then I said, "Hindi, Pilipino ako." They looked at each other and laughed. We all laughed about it.

I think I am mistaken for a foreigner because of my roots. Our great-grandfather from our father's side was a Spanish priest in Cabanatuan who fell in love and had a child with a half-Spanish half-Filipino woman.

I am thinking again about our professor's questions. Who is a Filipino?

I am a Filipino. I love the Philippines. I love Filipinos. I am happy to live in the Philippines and would even be proud to die for the country. 

May God bless our country and all her citizens.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the author are her own and do not in any way reflect those of Paraluman News.