reasons for feeling good about RP
The Philippine Star 07/28/2004   

The happiest people are not necessarily the wealthiest. The same is true of nations. Despite economic hardships that have prompted millions of Filipinos to seek better opportunities abroad, there are those who choose to stay or keep coming back.
Despite the chaos of Philippine politics, economic uncertainties, traffic, pollution and other problems, there is nothing like home.
On The STAR’s 18th anniversary, we affirm our pride in being Filipino and give you 18 reasons, both serious and light, to love the Philippines.


Here goes...
1. Against all odds, we always survive.
2. It always feels good to have world-class athletes Manny Pacquiao and Jennifer Rosales in our midst and world pool champ Fil-Canadian Alex Pagulayan saying he’s "110 percent Pinoy."
3. We have a beautiful country and we are a beautiful people.
4. We can follow the ups and downs, ins and outs of Kris Aquino’s checkered love life uncensored.
5. Driving around the city is easy because road signs are merely suggestions, not regulations.
6. All kinds of animals are edible ... we never go hungry.
7. We are Asia’s first democracy! When we declared independence from Spain on July 12, 1898, we had our own president (complete with a cabinet), our own army (in uniform, at that), our own flag, our own national anthem, our own legislature and judiciary, and, especially, our own constitution — a document then unique in Asia.
8. When abroad, we can speak a language only understood by us.
9. Being Pinoy is enough to make us feel good about ourselves.
10. We’re tough, resilient, resourceful and adaptable. The winners of Survivor have nothing on the average Filipinos who eat balut, isaw, kwek-kwek, and soup No 5 — not as delicacies but as part of their daily diet.
11. Wala nang hihigit pa sa tinubuang-lupa.
12. Because we have Jollibee and Red Ribbon chocolate crunch cake.
13. Our inter-island ships because arriving port is always like an epiphany.
14. Ten million hard-working Filipinos abroad whose dollar remittances prop up the national economy.
15. People here don’t ask what "Singkit" means.
16. Because our 1986 people power%2