Yabang Pinoy
URL: http://www.yabangpinoy.com

Yabang is the Filipino word for PRIDE. And Yabang Pinoy is about getting our pride back. It was founded by a group of Filipinos who realized that one of the biggest problems faced by the Philippines today is Filipinos not believing enough in their nationality. The goal of the “Yabang Pinoy” campaign is to unite the Filipino people in believing in themselves and in fellow Filipinos. And I think this is such a timely goal considering the myriad of things that have dampened our spirit about our country the past few months.

Our politics have given us infamy (we’ve been named one of the Most Corrupt Country in the world)—and Billions in debt. Our sports programs are in shambles—our brightest hope to win a gold in the Olympics, boxer Harry Tanamor, was humiliated in the first round. We also lost in tae kwon do–both in the first round. And whether we make a spin of it and say we fought well, the fact of the matter is that we lost! We also had rebel Muslim groups attack our towns and cities in the last couple of weeks partly because of a botched Peace Process, but also because there will never be lasting peace without a better quality of life for everybody.

And yet there are still a lot to be happy about and thankful for. Manny Pacquiao continues to bring us pride—and 0 crime—every time he fights. Our students have won numerous international awards,like the World Cyber Games Asian finals, or the International Math Olympiad. Arnel Pineda is doing us proud in the international music scene for leading the band JOURNEY.

Yabang Pinoy wants us to remember that, and internalize it, and feel it in our bones and let it flow in our blood, and shout it to the world. Call it a cool revolution, a cool Pinoy revolution. Wear the band and raise your fists in the air, not to overthrow, but to uplift.

Just think about it. What would the world be without Filipinos? It’s a kind of mental game that I love to play myself. Pamela Ayson puts it this way: “It’s probably a bit different. No, come on, examine and really imagine what it’s like for a world to exist without us balut-eating species. For sure it would be a surprise for you and you’ll realize that it’s completely different.

If there were no Pinoys, the Karaoke that was invented by Roberto del Rosario, will not exist. On a more serious note, if Fe del Mundo wasn’t born, studies that contributed to the invention of the incubator would not have surfaced. Millions and millions of babies would have had difficulty fighting for their lives if not for that piece of equipment.”

Or maybe it is that beautiful–albeit its urban legend-status– answer of Precious Lara Quigaman (Miss International 2005) to the question: What do you say to the people of the world who have typecasted Filipinos as nannies? Her answer was supposed to have been:

“I take no offense on being typecasted as a nanny. But i do take offense that the educated people of the world have somehow denigrated the true sense and meaning of what a nanny is.”

“Let me tell you what she is. She is someone who gives more than she takes. She is someone you trust to look after the very people most precious to you - your child, the elderly, yourself. She is the one who has made a living out of caring and loving other people.”

“So to those who have typecasted us as nannies, thank you. It is a testament to the loving and caring culture of the Filipino people. And for that, I am forever proud and grateful of my roots and culture.”

Sayang that this whole episode is not true. But this is still a great Ms. Universe answer, right?

For helping us get back our pride as Filipinos, for insisting that there are a lot of things to be proud about, and that if we just find our pride, we can get our groove back, AngPeregrino Recommends Yabang Pinoy this week.