We are Filipinos. But how do we define ourselves? How do others define us? How does being Filipino define who we are as individuals?

In 2005, when it was still uncommon to talk about nationalism, a group of young Filipino idealists formed Yabang Pinoy to make Filipinos realize that a strong sense of national pride is the key to real progressive change in the country. It aimed to spark nationalism, to convert each Pinoy into not just a proud Pinoy but a shouting proud Pinoy from inside out–sa isip, sa salita, sa gawa. Its signature abaca band, a visible reminder and a conversation piece, has since been on the wrists of some 70,000 Filipinos here and abroad. The pioneering movement has implemented programs that educated countless schoolchildren about Philippine biodiversity, history, culture and the arts, language, and myriad more topics. It emboldened entrepreneurs to create original ideas, concepts, products, and services that elevate the standards of being tagged “Filipino.” It also encouraged Filipino consumers to complete the virtuous cycle by being mindful of where they spend their every peso. Throughout all of these, Yabang Pinoy has constantly believed that progress starts not from drastic changes in the political system, but in changing every Filipino’s mindset.

Five years have passed since the establishment of Yabang Pinoy and a lot has changed. The movement has steadily driven the momentum and inspired other groups to join the cause. Now, it is suddenly fashionable for people to literally wear their national pride, so that many don the colors of the national flag in many forms and interpretations. But at the end of the day, is that the best you can do?

Nationality is an unavoidable, indispensable aspect of one’s own identity. To be part of a nation is to feel a sense of accountability over its fate, to rejoice with our countrymen’s victories, and share the burden of their hardships. Our individual sense of self is, and should be, inseparable from how we define ourselves as a people.

Sadly, few are conscious of this invisible thread between man and country. The Philippines’ long history is a severe narrative of colonization, subjugation, and domestication, dulling our senses and sensitivities. Against this condition even Jose Rizal cautions in The Indolence of the Filipino: “The lack of national sentiment brings (an) evil…which is the absence of all opposition to measures prejudicial to the people and the absence of any initiative in whatever may redound to its good.”

More than a century thus passed; obsolete and unconvincing already is the excuse of colonial mentality. Now is the time to take ownership and responsibility for our own fate and the fate of the whole country. Yabang Pinoy again poses a challenge to all Filipinos: integrate the “May Yabang Ako” battle cry of nationalism into everything you do, let it define your existence and manners, and make nation-building a daily habit and lifestyle. In today’s highly globalized world, it has never been more important for Filipinos to act with an inherent national pride in doing things, from the littlest to the most ground-breaking, from crossing the street to paying taxes, from being the best in school or at work to engaging in social entrepreneurship. Only when people attach being Filipino within themselves will they realize their vital role in continuously defining and re-defining what Filipino means and what it stands for.

We are Filipinos. Our country is the Philippines. Let’s make its progress and development happen now.