The "Representing Philippines" Card

There has been issue lately regarding "Pinoy-baiting". So many content creators are being criticized for using the Filipinos or the Philippines on their content to gain massive views from, of course, Filipinos. One big example was Nas Daily, who's recently under fire due to accusations of exploiting the culture of a Filipino tribe. The issue has died down, I think, because people has stopped talking about it.

Aside from "Pinoy-baiting", there's something many Filipinos didn't realize or never gave an attention to. The "Representing Philippines" card. This isn't about judging any Filipino who claims they are "representing Philippines", but netizens already judged foreign content creators for "Pinoy-baiting".

While reading an article about Ray Parks, who's under contract with TNT in Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), not playing this season on the league because he will be playing for B.League of Japan, he mentioned he's trying to represent the country in the league. It is a big question because TNT management has been in doubts on his initial reasons which is a "personal matter which involves his family". It has come to light that he'll be playing for a team on B.League as an import.

Aside from Parks, Kiefer Ravena left PBA too for B.League. They might claim they'll represent Philippines, but foremost, it's a career move especially now when the Covid situation in the country hardly improves.

During the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics, there are four Filipino athletes who won took home medals (1 Gold, 2 Silvers, and 1 Bronze). Many Filipino netizens are very proud of them for representing the Philippines, and that the four athletes are pure Filipinos. I've been hearing issues why the sports committee in the country has been recruiting athletes overseas who are partly Filipinos when it's possible to train purely Filipino athletes. There's no question about recruitment if they really wanted to represent Philippines in international competitions, or if they're after about the monetary offers, then it's a different story.

I am fond of reading comments on Facebook because of Pinoy humor, especially those hilarious memes, in different issues. But there's a serious comment regarding the use of "Proud to be Pinoy" phrase. There are so many popular people, particularly in entertainment who are partly Filipino. What I remember from the comment is, are those partly Filipino celebrities even proud of being Pinoy? Most of the replies dropped names like Bruno Mars, Enrique Iglesias, and more. Though such people has made statement about their admission being partly Filipinos.

Back in the 1990s and 2000s, there are some Filipino celebrities who has been very vocal about their heritage like Rob Schneider, Lou Diamond Phillips, Tia Carrere, and others.

Gladly, some Filipinos proudly represents the country despite with mixed blood. Apl.De.Ap is one of them who never fails to come to the country. Aside from his stint as one of the members of Black Eyed Peas, he's been supporting other Filipino artists including former The Voice Philippines contestant Jessica Reynoso who's now known as J.Rey Soul of Black Eyed Peas.

People can claim they're "representing the Philippines" anytime they want. They have every right to express such claim. Their actions will speak, and people be the judge. People cannot easily be pleased, and getting even more judgmental. Meanwhile, artists such as H.E.R. and Olivia Rodrigo are partly Filipinos, and they claim as such. The latter is currently leading the music charts worldwide.

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