Among the 80 million people in the Philippines, there are about 1.3 million Chinese, and it is said that nearly 10 million Filipinos have Chinese ancestry. Many prominent figures do not shy away from acknowledging their Chinese heritage. On the eve of Premier Zhu Rongji's visit to the Philippines in November 1999, a journalist interviewed then-Foreign Minister Siasón, who humorously opened with, "President Jiang Zemin is my uncle," admitting that he himself has Chinese ancestry and is a good friend of the Chinese people. From Filipino friends, the journalist learned that anyone with a surname ending in SON, such as former National Police Chief and current Senator Lacson, as well as former Governor Sinson, who ousted former President Estrada, also has Chinese ancestry. Notably, the husband of current Philippine President Arroyo and Cardinal Sin are among them. However, in the eyes of ordinary Filipinos, they are no longer considered Chinese, as they speak Filipino, live a Filipino lifestyle, and have fully integrated into Philippine society.
Decades ago, Chinese people devised various ways to quickly "integrate into local society" for survival, some marrying Filipinos—taking a Filipino woman in addition to their original spouse; many more spent money to adopt Filipino surnames, achieving a "difficult to distinguish between true and false" effect on various official documents that require registration. Many of my Chinese friends have English or Spanish names that are completely unrelated to their Chinese names. The abandonment of ancestral surnames reflects the difficulties faced by these compatriots who have left their homeland.
Chinese do not directly participate in politics; they prefer to use money to cultivate relationships with the powerful.
Although less than 2% of the Chinese in the Philippines control nearly 60% of the national economy and have opportunities to participate in key sectors such as finance, transportation, and telecommunications, the economic advancement does not mask the lag of Chinese in the political arena. In my view, the latter is the true measure of whether the Chinese have integrated into Philippine society.
Since the Chinese began to enjoy the right to vote and be elected in 1982, there have been more than ten Chinese who have emerged in the political arena. However, most Chinese still prefer the "quick and easy" approach of spending money to buy safety and cultivate relationships with the powerful. Conversely, hardworking Chinese who are dissatisfied with the status quo view Filipinos as having inherited too much of the Spanish Latin-style romance and laziness, optimism, and idleness. Because of this, even today, the vast majority of Chinese parents still oppose their children marrying locals, using the common excuse, "Marry one, burden the whole family." Of course, for the very few new immigrants engaged in drug trafficking, smuggling, or illegal small retail businesses, their attitude is another matter.
