Fraternities, Barkadas, Rotary International - What Is The Attraction?

[Methersgate]

Another case of a college student murdered in the course of his "fraternity initiation" hit the news in the past few days.

 

This got me to thinking about the importance of membership of such institutions - be they college fraternities, "barkadas" or for that matter Rotary International, in the Philippines.

 

No member of the middle classes seems able to pursue a career without the fraternity and the Rotary, and no teenage boy can exist without his barkada.

 

Can anyone explain this? I am genuinely puzzled.  Whilst Rotary exists in the UK, it does not have the importance that it has in the Philippines, and we don't have fraternities, although the USA does, as I understand it.

 

Is this perhaps related to the Chinese idea that you don't do business with someone you don't know?

Edited July 14, 2014 by Methersgate

[scott h]

My take on this is what I would call the "grapevine effect". The Philippine society that I AM EXPOSED to seems to be very dependent upon personal relationships. Need tires, ask your batchmate. Aircon on the fritz, you co-worker know a guy who's brother is a specialist. Clubs like what you mentioned are big networking machines. My wife basically has three networks. Her Highschool batch, her college batch and the gals she worked with before we married. Just MHO. 

[Methersgate]

Thanks. That does make sense.

It is rather like the Chinese system of doing business, which grew up because China never had any contract law. Whilst the Philippines does have a legal system, it is famously slow, so you won't use it if you can avoid it.

[Jake]

Hello Andrew,

 

I think the oldest established institution in the Philippines has an open secret about the right of passage

or fraternity initiation would be PMA (Philippines Military Academy) and the PNP Academy.  They are

notorious for abuse and later when they become generals or PNP senior superintendent, their abuse of

power kicks in.  That's especially true about Ateneo and UP -- look at their alumni who have made it into

opulent power.  They help each other out by the use of mutual protection (personal and political).

 

The term batch mate sometimes carries a life long utang na loob:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utang_na_loob 

Even the term barkada often times requires you to join up and fight off rival gangs penetrating your

corner or sari-sari store.  There have been cases where clashes ignite solely because your sister or

other ladies within your area were insulted.  

 

Of course most of the street barkadas are not protecting their territory because of drugs, like you would

find here in the states.  The street level Filipinos endured some of the most devastating conditions being

thrown at them almost every year -- they lived and survived together.  Like the brotherhood of soldiers,

often times their fellow barkakas are all that they have now.  

 

Respectfully -- Jake

Edited July 14, 2014 by Jake
spil chek

[Methersgate]

Thanks, Jake. That really is helpful.

I remember being told that, "The first loyalty of a PMA alumnus is to the PMA, the next is to his classmates there, and the third is to his nation!"
 

Could I say that, in origin, the barkada was, in effect, just the group of young men who had to protect their village?

 

Thinking about what you have written, I wonder if the barkada developed under the Spanish and merged into the American fraternity system as higher education developed? 

[Jake]

Thanks, Jake. That really is helpful.

I remember being told that, "The first loyalty of a PMA alumnus is to the PMA, the next is to his classmates there, and the third is to his nation!"

 

Could I say that, in origin, the barkada was, in effect, just the group of young men who had to protect their village?

 

Thinking about what you have written, I wonder if the barkada developed under the Spanish and merged into the American fraternity system as higher education developed? 

Another interesting discussion about the origin of the fraternity system.  Not googling any research,

I would assume that the tradition of hazing in the Ivy league universities in America came from the

British influence of higher learning.  The good ole boys like the secret society of Skull and Bones

and the FreeMasons can be also labeled as the good ole chaps......he, he.

[Methersgate]

The Freemasons I know nothing about except that I think they originate in Scotland and so far as I know they are not connected to institutions of higher learning.

 

I don't think there is any equivalent of either hazing or fraternities in British universities. If there was such a thing at the place I went to, it certainly passed me by! We did allegedly have a thing called the Apostles, but as the name suggests it was limited to twelve people, and was so secret that nobody knew if it still existed, so its influence was nil!

 

It certainly does seem to be a tradition in American universities.

[MacBubba]

That's especially true about Ateneo and UP -- look at their alumni who have made it into opulent power.

 

I checked with my wife.  She can't speak for the present time or for the time before she was in Ateneo, but in university in the early 80's there were no fraternities to speak of.  Ateneo Law School, however, had them when she was enrolled.

[Jake]

 

That's especially true about Ateneo and UP -- look at their alumni who have made it into opulent power.

 

I checked with my wife.  She can't speak for the present time or for the time before she was in Ateneo, but in university in the early 80's there were no fraternities to speak of.  Ateneo Law School, however, had them when she was enrolled.

 

You may find this amusing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ateneo_de_Manila_University_people.  It's in alphabetical order......

 

I won't bother searching famous trapos (traditional politicians) from UP.  That campus is

traditionally outspoken for being anti-establishment.  

[MacBubba]

Interesting list, although not confined to traditional politicians.  I could probably add a few maybe more low key but absolutely deserving notables.  I am sure UP would yield an even longer list of notables (again, not necessarily political) because their student population is very significantly larger.

 

Did you notice that Tetchie Agbayani was on the list?  I did not know that she was an alumna.