City vs. Province
While there are a lot of
islands in the Philippines, the overall area of the archipelago is small. A
population of 80 million means that there are about 266 people per square
kilometer, on average. Which is rather roomy compared to Taiwan’s 685 people
per square kilometer, but positively crowded when compared to the 30 people in
the same area in the United States. The U.K. has a population density similar
to the Philippines, but then again, the former has a lot more arable land and
pastures, and a lot fewer typhoons, cyclonic storms, landslides, lahars,
volcanoes and earthquakes...
Despite its relative density,
the Philippines has a sizeable rural population who live in what is called “the
province”.
“Province” takes on two
meanings in the islands. In the form “a Province”, the term refers to an
administrative subdivision, similar in purpose to a county in the United
States. Just as every American lives in a county inside his state, every
Filipino lives in a Province inside his Region. There are, at the time of this
writing, 79 Provinces in the Philippines.
On the other hand, the
expression “the province” (as opposed to “a Province”) refers to a rural area of
the Philippines. What would be called “the country” in the U.S. or “the
outback” in Australia is called “the province” in the Philippines. So when
someone refers to a Filipina from the province, he’s talking about the
Philippine equivalent of an American “country gal”.
Westerners are frequently
advised that Filipinas from the province make better wives, but it really
depends on what a man is looking for. The reason that women from the province
are so often recommended as wives is that many westerners interested in
Filipinas want “traditional” wives. Most often, this means that the men want
wives who are pro-family, who prefer the roll of homemaker to working mother,
and who respect their husband’s ultimate authority within the home. Not
surprisingly, conventional wisdom has it that Filipinas from rural areas are
more traditional than Filipinas from urban ones.
Of course, if traditional
values were not what a westerner is seeking, it would be folly for him to narrow
his search to just rural areas. But even if such values are his priority, he
shouldn’t be too hasty in ruling out city girls. While the odds may be greater
that a woman from the province shares his traditional values, there are plenty
of traditional-minded Filipinas in Manila and other metropolitan areas. Also,
forgive me for pointing out an obvious point, but it would be erroneous to
assume that a girl from the province is automatically a traditional girl.
Here are some considerations I
suggest you keep in mind:
-
What exposure does a
supposedly rural, traditional girl have to television, movies, radio, and the
Internet? The more exposure she has to these influences, the more variable
her behavior. Does she embrace MTV and the counter-generation, even within
the confines of her small village, or does she maintain her rural ways, immune
to outside influences?
-
Is this girl’s family
originally from the rural area, or did they move there from a more urban
environment? Short-term exposure to an environment is obviously not as
influential as long-term exposure. What is the family’s residential history?
- What is the girl’s family like? If her parents are untraditional, there’s a good chance their children will be also, even in a rural area. Is the mother a homemaker or a doctor? Is the father a field hand or a hacendero? Is her sister a University student or a seamstress? Family is “direct” environment, and play a more formative roll in a person’s life than “indirect” environment, such as the village or town they live in…
(End
of book excerpt – if you’d like the entire text, please consider ordering
The ASAWA
Guide to Fil-West Relationships. Thank you!)