Roles of Government in Philippines and America

Zack Pilien

• After the Spanish-American war America took over Philippines as its own territory

• The Americans tried to bring their way of life to the Philippines, forcing “civilization” and education upon the people

• But the Filipinos did not like the American way of life and rebelled

• The Philippines eventually gained independence through WWII but America had already left its mark

• Now the Philippines has developed into its own republic, with some similarities and some differences to America

• The overall system of running things is mostly the same for both, but the Philippines has strayed away from American principles in the areas of language, religion, and culture

• The Philippines is less supportive of religious diversity than America is

• While America’s government is generally accepting of all religions, Philippines Government (which is Catholic) has been fighting a war against Muslim forces who want to create their own nation

• In recent years the war has escalated thanks to American involvement and the resulting Al Qaeda support for the Philippine rebels

• In the past the Philippines government has been unable to compromise, however some peace talks have been taking place

• The Philippines is very linguistically diverse, with a total of about 170 different languages

• Because of this diversity, the Philippines allows schools to teach in the native language of their region

• America has suppressed native languages in the past, illegalizing them until only recently when schools on Indian Reservations were allowed to teach in native languages

• The Philippines is very fond of its culture, ensuring to preserve it through Government actions such as its National Commission for Culture and the Arts

• In America, Native American culture is excluded entirely from the government, being restricted only to the Reservations

• http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107887.html?pageno=3

• http://park.org/Philippines/government/philgov.html• http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/

articles-on-c-n-a/article.php?igm=4&i=232• http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?

article1245• http://d.1asphost.com/TawheedJihad/Filipino.htm• http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?

name=PH• http://www.unescobkk.org/education/efa/efanews/

news-details/article/the-philippines-institutionalizes-mother-tongue-based-multilingual-education/

• http://www2.nau.edu/~jar/BOISE.html• http://www.chanrobles.com/republicactno7356.htm