The Decolonial Turn in Filipino Philosophy

Jerry Imbong

Academic philosophy is privy to the pervasive colonial knowledge production in the academia. The colonial legacy of philosophy was highlighted by the eminent Filipina philosopher Emerita Quito in her 1983 essay “The Status of Philosophy in the Philippines.” Decolonizing philosophy in the country entails urgent reforms of a myriad of interconnected factors which include, first and foremost, the decolonization of the university, its curriculum and instruction, its pedagogical method, and most importantly, an overhaul of neoliberal-oriented-imperialist-led- neocolonial education. This paper argues that a significant “decolonial turn” in Filipino philosophy took place via the historical turn, that is, through the writings of prominent nationalist historians such as Teodoro Agoncillo, Renato Constantino, and Reynaldo C. Ileto. Hence, this paper extracts decolonial themes found in Constantino’s major works. Recognized as one of the top ten Filipino philosophers, Constantino puts forward the position that a prerequisite to decolonization is the demythologization, i.e., a rectification of historical myths that have been presented and accepted as reality. In most of his works, Constantino used the terms “counter- consciousness” and “decolonization” interchangeably. The advantage of Constantino over other historians like Agoncillo, de la Costa and Ileto lies in Constantino’s staunch defense of nationalist aspirations and his conviction of the necessity of liberation movements which, as I presented, constitutes a major force in the process of decolonization. Lastly, it is posited that Renato Constantino’s decolonial project is evident in his philosophy of nationalism. For Constantino, a nationalist consciousness must be at the heart of decoloniality, for a true Filipino is a decolonized Filipino.