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: 

1. 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?
2. 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?
3. 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!)