Who Counts as Filipino? Philosophical Issues of Identity and the Chinese Filipino

• Main Author: Dela Cruz, Noelle Leslie
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2024
• Subjects: identity; Filipino; Chinese Filipino; nationalism; F. Sionil José
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/budhi/vol19/iss2/3; https://archium.ateneo.edu/context/budhi/article/1426/viewcontent/Budhi_2019.2_20and_203_203_20Article_20__20dela_20Cruz.pdf
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

This article examines some recent philosophical attempts to make sense of “identity” in light of the intersecting categories of race, ethnicity, and culture. It addresses a perennial issue brought up recently with regard to Filipino Chinese: Who counts as “Filipino?” Behind this question are assumptions that I scrutinize philosophically: that there is a “Filipino” and it is possible to identify who counts as such and who does not. I begin with a survey of existing paradigms of identity which I then apply to a critical analysis of recent public discourse spawned by anti-Chinese statements made by a prominent Filipino novelist. I conclude with ethical prescriptions for conceptualizing Filipino identity in light of the complex fissures revealed by the aforementioned issue.